This is my Kiwi version of the Singaporean Chinese New Year salad. Many of the ingredients have symbolic meanings such as oil wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year. Plum sauce: may your house be full of treasures. Lime: may you have luck, success and prosperity. Raw fish: wishing you surplus wealth. Pepper and five spice: may fortune smile on you. The salad is presented with the other ingredients around the fish, then everybody digs in with their chopsticks to toss to prosperity. The higher you toss the salad, the more luck you will have in the coming year. The salad is usually served with deep-fried prawn crackers but this is optional.
For the dressing
1 Tbsp | Sambal oelek |
1 Tbsp | Sesame oil |
75 ml | Lime juice |
75 ml | Chinese plum sauce, I used the Lee Kum Kee brand |
For the salad
1 cup | Grated carrot, peeled |
1 cup | Daikon, peeled and grated (Main) |
300 g | Boneless salmon fillets, very fresh, skinned and sliced thinly across the grain of the fish, lightly sprinkled with salt, then put in the fridge |
2 stalks | Celery, thinly sliced |
2 cm | Peeled ginger, sliced paper thin |
2 Tbsp | Japanese pickled ginger, pink |
¼ cup | Cocktail onions, white pearl onions, halved (Main) |
1 large | Kaffir lime leaf, central rib removed, very finely sliced |
1 | Spring onion, thinly sliced on the diagonal |
2 Tbsp | Toasted sesame seeds |
½ cup | Roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed coarsely |
½ tsp | Ground white pepper |
¼ tsp | Chinese five spice |
1 handful | Coriander sprigs |
Directions
- Mix all the dressing ingredients together well, taste and season with salt and reserve.
- Put the carrot and daikon in iced water for 10 minutes, drain well just before needed.
- Put the salmon in a pile into the middle of a large serving platter.
- Put the carrot, daikon, celery, both gingers, pearl onions, lime leaf and spring onion evenly around the salmon.
- Sprinkle the peanuts and sesame seeds on top. Mix the white pepper and five spice powder together and sprinkle this on top too.
- Drizzle the dressing all over the salad. Sprinkle the coriander sprigs over everything.
More of Ray's Chinese New Year recipes