For the salad
50g rice vermicelli noodles
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 bell pepper (any color is good)
1 medium carrot
2 spring onions, cut into strips
1 cucumber
1 daikon or white turnip
1 pomelo (or 1 pink grape fruit)
1 large pear, sliced
1 handful peanuts, roasted
5 wonton wrappers, deep fried, in strips
4 slices of smoked salmon
seasoned with salt and ground white pepper
serve with sweet chili sauce
For the plum sauce
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 ripe plums
2 tablespoons fine sugar
2 limes, juice only
Garnish
1 handful peanuts, roasted
5 wonton wrappers, in strips
salt and ground white pepper
4 slices of smoked salmon
For February 2 we are making a beautiful Traditional Yusheng Prosperity Salad, then the Chinese New Year begins. The recipe is from the Taiwanese food writer and BBC television chef Ching-He Huang. Because we don't like everything in the recipe we make a small adjustment, the grapefruit became an orange ;) Also we could not find a Daikon or white turnip, so radish.
Tradition is that you all sit around the table and then - before you eat - throw up some vegetables, because that brings good luck in the new year. Don't throw up indifferently, of course, but neatly, so that the food falls back on the tray.
How to make a Yusheng Prosperity Salad
Make the plum sauce or Sū méi jiàng first
There are no fresh plums this time of year and the salted Chinese plums are a step too far for us, so a jar of plums must do
Place all the ingredients in a pan with 200ml of water.
Cook until liquid has turned syrupy, strain and let cool.
Stir in the lime juice, set in the fridge until you serve.
Cook the rice noodles as directed on the package and drain them well
Toss the noodles with the oil.
Let the noodles cool in the fridge.
Wash all the vegetables.
Cut the onions into long strips.
Cut the carrots into sticks.
Cut the radish into slices.
Cut the cucumber into sticks.
Cut the bell pepper into thin strips.
Cut the pear, brush with lemon juice.
Peel the orange and cut into slices.
Arrange it all neatly on a platter.
The salmon is always the center
Keep the salad stored in the fridge until serving.
Scatter peanuts and pieces of deepfried wonton over the salad.
Place both sauces next to the Yusheng Prosperity Salad and serve immediately.
Everyone tosses the veg as high as possible with chopsticks, without letting it fall off the plate, while saying aloud auspicious whishes for prosperity in the New year! Xin Nian Kuai Le!