'Tikoy': A Lunar New Year staple in Filipino-Chinese homes

Tikoy is a popular staple during Lunar New Year celebrations in the Philippines. Its sticky feature symbolises the desire of every Filipino-Chinese family to keep the family close-knit.

Michele Lozada preparing to make 'tikoy' (nian gao) in celebrating the Lunar New Year. Source: Supplied by Michele Lozada

Highlights

• Every Chinese New Year in the Philippines, many Filipinos are used to joining in the celebrations especially if you live near Binondo, Manila.
• Preparing Tikoy (Chinese rice cake) has been a tradition for Filipino-Chinese families
• For Michele Lozada, she grew up knowing that tikoy symbolizes the importance of a family sticking together

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'Tikoy': A Lunar New Year staple in Filipino-Chinese homes

SBS Filipino

11/02/202117:38

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Manila-born Michele Lozada grew up knowing what tikoy is. Her family's Chinese friends would gift them the sticky rice cake every New Year.

"My father used to work in a Chinese-owned company. Every New Year, we would receive gifts from his work friends," recalls the mother-of-three from Central Coast.

According to Chinese belief, tikoy or New Year's cake is a must-have on the table because of its important symbolism - its stickiness represent the good relationship of each family.

"We're not Chinese but preparing tikoy on Lunar New Year has become our tradition," says the Industrial Engineering graduate from Manila."

Michelle Lozada and her family. In celebrating Chinese or Lunar New Year, it is believed that tikoy's sticky feature symbolises the sticky or solid relation of the family and that the new year would bring the family to stick together. Source: Supplied by Michele Lozada

It has been a long time since Michele Lozada had eaten tikoy and surely missing it, in November last year the former assistant restaurant manager decided to try making tikoy.

Tikoy or niangao in Chinese is made from sticky rice, water and sugar.

Many Filipinos are accustomed to eating tikoy, often quite sweet and often thinly sliced, dipped in beaten egg before frying to make the outside crispy.

For many Filipinos, tikoy (nian gao) is usually thinly sliced then dipped in beaten egg and fried to become crispy in the outside and soft inside. Source: A. Violata

"After having my third baby, I'm just usually at home. And because my kids love sweet treats like pastillas and kutsinta, I tried to learn how to make it. "

She also thought that since she has not seen tikoy being sold in Asian shops in her place in Central Coast, so she said, "why not make it."

"I searched to see if it was difficult to make and found out that it was easy to make anyway."

"I also asked my former Chinese workmates. I asked for tips and recipes on how to do it."

Eventually, with the help and advice of her sister-in-law, she was offering the rice cake to close friends.

"Since I don't have a job, I also thought of making it into a small business to somehow help my family here and in the Philippines."