Yusheng - the Malaysian Chinese New Year salad!

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all all those celebrating Chinese New Year! We say goodbye to the year of the dragon, and say hello to the year of the snake!


My husband needs to travel to Malaysia quite a lot and he told me about this traditional salad celebration he gets involved in when he is over there. It is known as Yusheng (or yee sang), which translates to Prosperity Toss.

This amazing salad has its ingredients chosen very carefully as each ingredient has a different meaning and if you ask me, it doesn’t sound all that bad healthwise either!


The base of the dish contains capsicum, chilli, jellyfish, sun-dried oranges, red pickled ginger and turnips. These make the base ingredients. Those eating the salad then proceed to add ingredients to build the salad:

• The raw fish is added (usually this is salmon, but traditionally wolf herring was used), symbolising abundance and excess through the year. 
• Pomelo or lime is added to the fish, adding luck and auspicious value. 
• Pepper is then dashed over in the hope of attracting more money and valuables. 
• Oil is then poured out, circling the ingredients and encouraging money to flow in from all directions. 
• Carrots are added indicating blessings of good luck. 
• Shredded green radish is placed symbolising eternal youth. 
• Shredded white radish is added for prosperity in business and promotion at work.

The condiments are finally added:

• First, peanut crumbs are dusted on the dish, symbolizing a household filled with gold and silver. 
• Sesame seeds quickly follow symbolising a flourishing business. 
• Deep-fried flour crisps in the shape of golden pillows is then added with wishes that literally the whole floor would be filled with gold.

Once put together, all the diners at the table stand up and on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying various auspicious wishes out loud. The higher the toss, the more prosperous the year!

What a fun way to start the new year! :)

Purple... carrots?

A fantastic find at the supermarket – purple carrots! No, its not something from Alice in Wonderland, all carrots used to be purple until the 17th century when Dutch growers took mutant strains of purple, yellow and white carrots and created the modern day orange carrot. No idea what made them wake up and decide to play with carrot colours, history is a bit fuzzy. 

So whats the difference? Orange carrots are rich in beta-carotene (vitamin A), vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and antioxidants including lutein, which is good for eye health. Carrots are excellent for healthy skin and hair, regulates intestinal activity, provides energy and is an excellent anti-inflammatory food.

Purple carrots have all these good features, plus anthocyanins – a potent antioxidant which gives vegetables their reddish/purple/bluey colour. But more importantly, they capture harmful free radicals in the body, slow blood clotting and act as an anti-inflammatory agent. Recent studies have shown that these benefits as well as other antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenic activities can help and prevent cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

And how do they taste? Just like orange carrots! You can eat them just the same as normal carrots too – raw, steam, grate, juice, stir-fry. Add a new colour to your meal and give purple carrots a go! –Laura x