Why did they toast the Chinese New Year with nuts and raw fish?

by Joanne
(Manhattan, NY, USA)

I am an American who works for a Singaporean Investment company in New York. We had a party yesterday and I have to write an article re-capping the event. The head of the office performed a toast with noodles, raw fish and peanuts and then people took their chopsticks and held them as high as they could.

Could you please tell me if this has a name...and a brief synopsis of what food is needed and what this toast symbolizes?

Thank you.


Victoria's Answer:

Hi Joanne,

Thanks for your question and your interest in Chinese culture.

The Chinese New Year toast you described sounds like Yusheng (also known as Yee Sang or Prosperity Salad).

Yusheng is a popular Chinese New Year tradition in Singapore and Malaysia. Many Chinese people from China haven't heard of it before. It's not a common tradition throughout mainland China.

Basically, Yusheng is like a salad with raw fish. Common ingredients include peanuts, sesame seeds, cilantro, Kaffir lime leaves, carrots, ginger, turnips, peaches, and raw salmon. The dressing is plum sauce blended with oil and rice vinegar.

As each ingredient is added to the salad, a Chinese New Year toast is recited. Usually the toast is a pun on the ingredient.

For example: When the fish is added to the salad, you will hear someone say 年年有余 (Nián nián yǒuyú) which means “Every year, more abundance”...and the last word sounds very similar to the Mandarin Chinese word for “fish.”

Then everyone joins in to toss the salad.

The reason you saw everyone holding their chopsticks as high as they could was because the higher the chopsticks, the more good fortune during the New Year.

Hope this helps you, Joanne. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.


Best regards,







Photo courtesy of Alpha. Alpha also shared his recipe for Yusheng. You can read his full list of ingredients here: Alpha's Yee Sang Prosperity Salad