Prosperity Salad (Yuseng)

By stancec44

This salad only really pertains to overseas Chinese, like Singaporeans or Malaysians who are Chinese. We lift the salad really high with chopsticks with about 20 people around a round table. But that salad is very, very important because we want to lift up the spirit. The higher you raise your chopsticks to mix the salad, the better luck you’ll get for the coming year. We eat this throughout the 15-day celebrations, and especially on the seventh day which is known as Ren Ri 人日 (commonly known as “every person’s birthday”).
This recipe is a Cantonese-style raw fish salad made with various shredded vegetables and served with assorted toppings, a sweet plum sauce and slices of raw fish (usually salmon sashimi, mackerel, or bass). The word for “raw fish” is yúshēng, but because the character for fish (魚) resembles its homophone “abundance” (余), “yúshēng” is interpreted as meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, the raw fish in this dish symbolizes of abundance, prosperity, good fortune, and vigor.

Chef Simone Tong of Little Tong Noodle Shop in New York, who developed this recipe, says: “Also known as Prosperity Toss, this is a Cantonese-style raw salad made with various shredded vegetables and assorted toppings, a sweet plum sauce, and slices of raw fish. Each ingredient has a corresponding auspicious greeting with it. This dish is usually served as an appetizer to raise good luck for the new year by everyone gathering around the dining table and raising their chopsticks to mix the ingredients of the salad together.”

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plum sauce
• 2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• Kosher salt
• Vegetable oil (for frying; about 4 cups)
• 10 square wonton wrappers, cut into 1/2"-thick strips
• 4 oz. best-quality salmon, thinly sliced, or 4 oz. sliced smoked or cured salmon
• 2 medium cucumbers (any kind), cut into matchsticks
• 2 Asian pears, thinly sliced
• 2 grapefruit or 1 pomelo, peeled, segmented
• 1 large carrot, peeled, cut into matchsticks
• 1 medium daikon, peeled, cut into matchsticks
• 1 bell pepper (any color), cut into matchsticks
• 3 Tbsp. pickled ginger

Preparation

Step 1

Whisk plum sauce, soy sauce, sesame seeds, five-spice powder, sesame oil, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; season sauce with salt and set aside.

Pour oil into a large skillet to come about halfway up the sides. Heat over medium-high and add 1 wonton strip (this will be your tester to ensure oil is hot). Once wonton begins to sizzle around the edges and starts to shrivel, the oil is hot enough (if you have a deep-fry thermometer, it should register around 350°).

Working in batches, fry wonton strips until golden and crisp, 30–45 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.

Place salmon in the center of a large platter. Arrange cucumbers, pears, grapefruit, carrot, daikon, bell pepper, ginger, and fried wonton strips around salmon. Drizzle reserved sauce over and toss together with your guests before serving.