Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Cake) 年糕
Celebrate the lunar New Year with some Nian Gao (年糕), or Chinese New Year cake, a steamed sweet glutinous rice cake symbolizing good fortune and growth. This easy nian gao recipe is soft & chewy, slightly sweet, and perfect for gifting to family and friends.
Equipment
- 1 Steamer or Wok with lid
Ingredients
- 230 g Glutinous rice flour
- 35 g Wheat starch
- 30 g Rice flour
- 110 ml Canned coconut milk
- 1.5 Tablespoons Cooking oil (vegetable, canola, corn, peanut) (22.5ml)
- 240 ml water
- 2 Pieces Chinese dark brown cane sugar slabs
- 1 Piece dried red date Optional garnish
Instructions
- To start, smash the Chinese brown sugar slabs into smaller pieces using a blunt object so that they melt faster, and set them aside.
- Next, add the brown sugar to the water in a pot and bring it to a boil using medium heat.
- Now turn the heat down to low and continue melting the sugar using low heat. Occasionally, mix the sugar around in the pot with the water.
- Once all of the sugar has melted, remove the pot from the stove and add the coconut milk. Mix everything well together and set it aside to let it cool down.
- In a large bowl, sift in the glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and wheat starch. Mix everything well together.
- Next, slowly pour in the sugar water coconut milk mixture into the dry ingredients while constantly mixing it.
- Then add in the cooking oil and mix everything well together.
- Now grab your cake pan container and grease it with a little cooking oil.
- Next, boil some water in a steamer or a wok and get it ready.
- While the water is boiling in your steamer, pour the mixture through a sieve into your greased container.
- Make sure to break up any lumps and impurities that appear on your sieve.
- Pick up the cake pan now and drop it down onto your countertop a few times to even out and level the mixture.
- Now, grab a toothpick or lighter and pop any bubbles that you see on the surface of the mixture.
- Then, cover the cake pan with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and steam on medium heat for about 1 hr.
- Note: steaming time will vary depending on the stove and cake pan used. To check for doneness, stick a toothpick into the nian gao and see if it comes out clean. If not, it needs to be steamed a bit longer until the toothpick comes out clean.
- Once done steaming, remove it from the steamer and add a dried red date in the middle by gently pressing down into it. The nian gao should stick to the red date.
- Once done steaming, remove it from the steamer and add a dried red date in the middle by gently pressing down into it. The nian gao should stick to the red date.
- Remove it from the fridge the next day, and cut the nian gao into slices. It should be much easier to remove from the cake pan once it has solidified.
- When ready to eat, heat up a non-stick pan on medium heat.
- Add a little bit of oil to the pan and pan-fry the nian gao slices until golden brown on all sides and serve.
Notes
Optional: Beat 1-2 eggs and then dip the nian gao slices into the egg wash prior to pan-frying them.
Note: Steaming time will vary between stoves and pans used to steam the nian gao. Check for doneness by sticking a toothpick into the steamed rice cake. The toothpick should come out clean if it's fully cooked.