“Here’s a dish that basically gives you licence to play with your food! Yusheng is a vibrant, tangy-sweet Chinese New Year salad that’s basically a confetti explosion of good vibes, prosperity, and everything crunchy. It originated in Southeast Asia and Singapore and Malaysia, who love a tug-of-war over Who Does It Better, argue over where it originated. It’s kind of their pavlova, if you get us.  Singapore often takes credit for popularising the modern, celebratory version we know today, crediting a group of chefs in the 1960s who added the flair of the prosperity toss (lo hei). Malaysia, on the other hand, points to its diverse Chinese communities and their long-standing traditions of serving something similar well before yu sheng became trendy.

Whatever… Here's how it works. Every ingredient represents a blessing – carrots for luck, fish for abundance, pomelo for big-time wins, and crispy wonton bits for gold. You get your gang around the table, drizzle the zingy plum dressing on top, and everyone digs in with chopsticks, lifting and tossing the salad as high as possible while making wishes for the year ahead. The higher the toss, the better the fortune—so it’s not just dinner; it’s an edible workout for your arms and a predictor of wealth, health and happiness for the year ahead.” - Leanne Kitchen & Antony Suvalko

SERVES 4-6

50g (⅓ cup) sesame seeds
¾ tsp five spice powder
2 carrots, trimmed and peeled
1 small daikon, trimmed and peeled
2 Lebanese cucumbers
1 jicama (yam bean, omit it if you can't find one), peeled
4 green onions, trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths
1 large or 2 smaller pomelos, peeled
750g piece of skin-on salmon fillet
vegetable oil, for cooking
10 wonton wrappers
160g (1 cup) roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp ginger, cut into fine matchsticks
1 bunch coriander, sprigs removed

Dressing
300ml Chinese plum sauce (we prefer Ayam brand)
3 tbsp runny honey
80ml (⅓ cup) lime juice, or to taste
2 tbsp sesame oil

For the dressing, combine the plum sauce and honey in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low, stirring often, for 3–4 minutes or until smooth. Remove from the heat, add the lime juice and sesame oil. Taste, season with salt and pepper and a little extra lime juice, if needed. Stir in 1–2 tbsp water, or enough to thin the mixture to a heavy coating consistency.

Place the sesame seeds in a small, heavy-based frying pan then cook over medium-low heat, tossing the pan occasionally, for 8 minutes or until toasted. Remove to a mortar, add the five spice powder, and coarsely grind using a pestle.

Cut all the vegetables into fine matchsticks and place in separate bowls. Remove the membrane from the pomelo segments, then coarsely tear the pomelo into pieces. Using tweezers, remove the pin bones from the salmon. Using a long sharp knife held on an angle against the salmon fillet, cut the salmon into very thin, wide slices – start from the tail end of the fillet and work your way up toward the head end, leaving the skin behind. Set aside.

Fill a saucepan a third full of oil, then heat it to 180°C or until a cube of bread turns golden in 15 seconds. Add the wonton wrappers, a few at a time, and cook for 2–3 minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove with tongs to paper towel to drain and cool, then break the wrappers up into large pieces.

To serve, arrange all the prepared ingredients on a large platter or tray and allow everyone to help themselves. Pour dressing over and toss everything together.

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