It’s Lunar New Year.
And chef Junda Khoo visited the Sunrise set on Saturday, to show viewers how to make the perfect prosperity salad to mark the occasion.
Khoo, who is the owner of Ho Jiak restaurants, talked through what every ingredient means and how to do the toss.
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The chef just published a new cookbook which is available to viewers.
Yee Sang
Serves 4
Yee sang is a Lunar New Year salad.
It’s made up of separate ingredients, each with different colours and meanings.
After the salad is served, the ingredients are tossed high by those eating it while you call out good wishes that are linked to the ingredients.
Each one means something different, like for peanuts there’s a saying about laying stones to your foundation.
Green ingredients are about longevity, so you wish others a long life.
Ingredients
10 wonton skins
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons plum sauce
1 tablespoon maltose
100 g (31/2 oz) yellow pickled radish
100 g (31/2 oz) daikon (white radish)
100 g (31/2 oz) carrots
100 g (31/2 oz) red cabbage
100 g (31/2 oz) green apples
100 g (31/2 oz) Japanese pickled red ginger
400 g (14 oz) salmon sashimi, finely sliced
2 tablespoons trout or salmon roe
coriander (cilantro) leaves, to garnish
1 tablespoon crushed peanuts, to garnish
Method
Slice the wonton skins into thin strips. Heat some oil in a heavy-based saucepan and deep-fry until golden and crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Dry toast the sesame seeds in a small frying pan and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the sesame oil, plum sauce and maltose together well and set aside.
Finely julienne the pickled radish, daikon, carrots, cabbage, apples and pickled red ginger, then place each in a separate bowl of cold water until ready to plate up. Put the apple strips in cold salted water to stop them browning.
In the centre of a large serving plate, make a salmon rose.
Start by rolling one slice of salmon into a tight spiral shape, then stand that on its end – this will be the centre of your rose.
Now wrap one slice of salmon at a time around this centrepiece, overlapping the ends of each to keep your rose secure.
When all the ‘petals’ have been wrapped around, squeeze together gently at the bottom to open it up a little, then adjust the top edges to make it look like a rose.
Drain the prepared vegetables, then arrange each component separately around the salmon rose. It’s great to have contrasting colours next to each other to make it pretty, like white radish alongside carrots and red cabbage.
Once the salad is assembled, garnish with the coriander leaves. When everyone is gathered at the table, sprinkle with the peanuts and some salt and pepper, then dress the salad with the sauce in a circular motion.
Finally, grab a chopstick each and get everyone to stand around the salad. When ready, toss the salad as high as you can while loudly making your wishes for the coming year!
