Its ingredients come from the food symbolically offered on New Year's Eve, including green vegetables, fish balls, shrimp, cabbage, squash, or bamboo. These things are scalded prior to the offering ceremony, then afterwards plunged into chicken broth to create an "anything you wish" dish.
從歲暮到新春，年菜的中心總是火鍋，它的材料是卅日拜拜時湊碗數的一些青菜、魚丸、蝦、白菜、蘿蔔、筍等，這些東西事前先燙過，拜完後全部放入雞湯內就成了「什錦如意鍋」。