Nian Gao Cake – China Sichuan Food

Final modification : January 30, 2023 by Elaine| 1 remark

Chinese language New Yr is quick approaching and I plan to finish the 12 months by making a scrumptious Steamed Nian Gao recipe. Yearly, Chinese language world wide have a good time their New Yr with a standard dessert known as “Nian Gao Cake”. It’s a kind of sticky rice cake that has been loved for hundreds of years and brings good luck for the approaching new 12 months.

Contents

What’s Nian Gao?

Nian Gao cake (年糕) actually interprets to “the cake of the 12 months” and is constituted of glutinous rice flour, common rice flour, or typically different further components like brown sugar and coconut milk . The feel is barely delicate and dense.

White Nian Gao VS Brown Nian Gao Cake

Nian Gao cake additionally is available in completely different styles and sizes. However there are two sorts of Nian Gao in China: white Nian Gao stick and brown Nian Gao Cake. One is white and the opposite is a brown sugar coloured cake of the 12 months. White Nian Gao is sugar-free and can be utilized in soups, stir-fries and lots of different dishes. Whereas the brown sugar-colored model normally comprises a excessive quantity of sugar, it may be served straight or after being pan-fried.

Why do the Chinese language eat Nian Gao?

The custom of consuming Nian Gao to have a good time the Chinese language New Yr dates again centuries in China. In keeping with folklore, consuming Nian Gao was believed to carry luck and prosperity for the approaching 12 months, which is why it grew to become so standard throughout Lunar New Yr celebrations. This custom has continued by the generations to honor the ancestors who additionally celebrated this particular time of 12 months with Nian Gao.

Nian Gao cake is especially standard in southern China, together with Guangdong delicacies. It may be made with coconut milk and even with dried coconut.

How one can serve Nian Gao cake

The cake is sort of scrumptious when nonetheless heat, however the widespread strategy to serve it’s to slice and pan-fry it. Generally the cake is used as a New Yr’s ornament and will be saved for a while. Then it will likely be hardened! Pan frying will make the cake slices delicate and aromatic once more.

1. You possibly can fry the Nian Gao slices with only a small quantity of oil. This provides a pleasant crispy shell.
2. It’s also possible to select to fry the Nian Gao slices after dipping them in egg liquid. This provides a stronger aroma.

How one can retailer leftovers

When you’ve got leftovers, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them. Subsequent time earlier than serving, slice and fry till crispy and tender once more.

Glutinous rice flour

The primary ingredient of Nian Gao cake is glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice flour is constituted of glutinous rice with a particular processing technique known as “水磨”. To provide glutinous rice flour, glutinous rice should first be immersed in water for about two to a few hours till it may be simply crushed by hand. Look-wise, glutinous rice flour is much like wheat flour or starch, however they’ve completely different traits. Glutinous rice flour meals are typically extra sticky and chewy than common rice flour meals.

Rice flour

Rice flour is constituted of common plain rice as a substitute of sticky rice. On this recipe from Nian Gao, rice flour is used to make the cake extra strong to maintain its form.

Brown sugar plate (片糖)

You might discover that the brown sugar slab is broadly utilized in many Chinese language desserts. These are lighter coloured patches than common brown sugar. In comparison with common brown sugar, the slices even have a lighter sweetness.

Coconut milk

Along with sugar water, I extremely suggest including coconut milk as it may improve the flavour of Nian Gao cake and provides it a really wealthy aroma.

Components

Soften the sugar

In a saucepan, add 2 cups of water, add the ginger slices, brown sugar and brown sugar plate collectively. Warmth over the bottom warmth till the sugar is totally dissolved. After which add 1 cup of coconut milk. Permit the liquid to chill for 10 minutes.

To make the dough

In a big bowl, combine collectively the glutinous rice flour, rice flour and salt. After which pressure the sugar liquid into the glutinous rice flour in 3 batches.

Combine with the egg beaters till the batter turns into clean like sugar. Add vegetable cooking oil.

Pressure the paste right into a greased pan (I take advantage of a 9 inch baking dish).

Deliver the water to a boil then scale back the warmth to medium. Be sure to have sufficient water as we can be steaming for fairly some time. Steam for 50 minutes over medium warmth.

Then let the Nian Gao cake cool for some time and place it within the fridge in a single day to harden.

Lower the cake into strips and fry in a really small quantity of oil. Go away some area between them and do not allow them to get hooked up to one another. In any other case, they danger sticking collectively.

The pan-fried model has a pleasant crispy shell and a fantastic aroma and candy inside.

It’s also possible to select to dip the Nian Gao cake in egg liquid earlier than frying.

Different Chinese language New Yr Recipes

🧾Recipe