Lunar New Year nian gao

Nian gao (sweet rice cake) is an auspicious food like many other foods eaten during Lunar New Year. Nian means year. While gao means cake in Cantonese, it’s also a homonym for tall or high; thus, nian gao symbolises a good, prosperous year ahead.

Credit: Quarry Books / Nicole Soper Photography

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Without fail, my mother would serve us pan-fried nian gao for breakfast every morning on the first day of Lunar New Year.  I never gave our traditions much thought or appreciated this simple QQ and not-too-sweet cake until I moved away from New York City and stopped having nian gao during Lunar New Year for a few years. These days, I make sure we have plenty of nian gao and other foods that symbolise good luck and fortune to go around every Lunar New Year.

Ingredients

Nian gao

• 1 cup (235 g) hot water
• ½ cup (115 g) packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups (240 g) glutinous rice flour, sifted
• ¼ cup (60 g) coconut cream from a chilled can of coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional
• ½ tsp ginger juice, to taste, optional

Decoration (optional)

• 1-2 dried jujubes (red dates)

Makes one 20.5 cm (8 inch) cake.

Instructions

1. Generously grease an 20.5 cm (8 inch) cake tin (pan) or line it with parchment paper. Nestle a strip of parchment paper into the sides of the cake pan to form a collar.
2. In a blender, blend all the nian gao ingredients until you get a smooth batter. (Alternatively, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth, like thinned out peanut butter.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Tap the tin against the counter a few times. Smooth out the top of the cake gently by drawing circles on the surface with a whisk. Cover with aluminum foil.
4. Steam the cake over high heat for 35 minutes (see note). If steaming over medium-low to medium heat, it may take 60 minutes or longer to cook. Periodically check the water level of the pot and replenish with hot water as needed. The nian gao is ready when an inserted toothpick (or bamboo stick) comes out clean.
5. Remove the nian gao from the steamer and cool. Place a serving plate on top of the nian gao. Flip the nian gao onto the plate. (If you didn’t use parchment paper, run a knife gently along the edges where the nian gao adheres to the tin.)
6. If desired, place the jujubes in the middle as decoration. Cut into even slices and serve.

Notes

• Also known as sweet rice flour, glutinous rice flour is gluten-free. 

• To steam cakes such as nian gao, place a steamer rack into a large saucepan. Fill the saucepan with water until it reaches the top of the steamer rack. Boil the water. Then place the cake tin, covered with foil, on top of the steamer rack. Cover the saucepan with a lid. Let the steam from the boiling water cook the food in the container. If you don’t have a steamer rack, here’s a hack: crumple three sheets of aluminum foil into three balls. Set them on the bottom of a wok, pot or saucepan in a triangular array and level the cake tin on top of the balls. Always be careful when steaming food. Never touch steam or place your face near the steam. 

• If you’d like to try fried nian gao, refrigerate the nian gao overnight. When ready to fry, whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of milk in a medium bowl. Lightly coat eight to ten pieces of sliced nian gao with the egg. Grease a frying pan and fry the nian gao over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until a golden-brown layer forms. Cool for a few minutes. Pan-fried nian gao are great for breakfast or as a quick snack.

Images and recipe from Modern Asian Baking at Home by Kat Lieu, photography by Nicole Soper Photography (Quarry Books, RRP $32.99).  

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Without fail, my mother would serve us pan-fried nian gao for breakfast every morning on the first day of Lunar New Year.  I never gave our traditions much thought or appreciated this simple QQ and not-too-sweet cake until I moved away from New York City and stopped having nian gao during Lunar New Year for a few years. These days, I make sure we have plenty of nian gao and other foods that symbolise good luck and fortune to go around every Lunar New Year.