Nian Gao - Chinese New Year Cake

Nian gao, literally translated to New Year Cake in Chinese which sounds like “higher year”. Higher means better and progress upwards. It is made from glutinous rice flour and it is popularly eaten during the lunar new year. It is offered to the Kitchen God, so that his mouth will be glued shut by the sticky rice cake and he won’t badmouth the human family to the Jade Emperor.

You can buy nian gao from the supermarket, market or Chinese medicine shop. The version I made is with yam and sweet potatoes. It is more elaborate but you can also just steam or microwave it and eat it plain or coat it with beaten egg and fry it.

I found my recipe on the internet and made some slight modification. To prepare the batter, sieve 1 cup of plain flour and 1/2 a cup of rice flour. Add 1 cup of cold water and mix the batter until smooth and runny. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon of tumeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and mix well. Let the batter sit for about 20 minutes.

Cut the yam, sweet potatoes and nian gao into squares or rectangles. Make sure they are all about the same size. Stack them up on a baking tray layering the yam first, followed by nian gao and then sweet potatoes. Heat up the wok with vegetable oil, dip into the batter and fry till both sides are golden brown. Make sure that it is well coated with the batter. Use your fingers as it is easier. 

There you go! Enjoy and wishing everyone out there a Happy Lunar New Year, abundance of prosperity, good fortune and a healthy year ahead. Stay safe.