New Year Sweet Rice Cake (红糖年糕), or nian gao, is a must for Chinese New Year, AKA the Spring Festival, as it symbolizes progress and growth. Celebrate Lunar New Year with nian gao (年糕), a steamed rice cake made of glutinous rice flour and brown sugar. This is based on Mama Lin's recipe. I made a slight modification by adding ground ginger to the batter to give the nian gao more flavor. Nian gao, also niangao (年糕 /nyen-gao/ 'year cake'), is a sweet rice cake made of glutinous rice flour and sugar with an auspicious meaning. It is a popular dessert eaten during Chinese New Year. Find out its meaning, legends, types, and recipe here. Niangao is 年糕 in Chinese. This type of rice cake is considered traditional Chinese Nian Gao. The rice cake is steamed, sliced into pieces, dipped in beaten eggs then pan fried on both sides. Fried Nian Gao is so delectable when it's freshly fried! Chinese Lunar New Year won't be complete without Nian Gao or Chinese New Year rice cake. It is made from glutinous rice flour, cornstarch, and wheat starch, giving you a soft and sticky treat. This recipe also uses brown sugar, ginger, and coconut milk for a sweet and creamy taste! Nian Gao (年糕), also called “Nin Go” in Cantonese, is known worldwide as Chinese New Year Rice Cake. Traditionally, it comprises key ingredients like glutinous rice flour, regular rice flour, and brown sugar. Nian gao, 年糕, is Chinese for "year cake" or "new year cake". This Chinese new year cake is a sweet rice cake that is traditionally eaten during the lunar new year celebrations. Nian gao is directly translated to sticky cake, "nian" meaning sticky and "gao" meaning cake. One of popular desserts eaten during this festive season is Chinese New Year’s cake (nian gao 年糕), that made with sticky, glutinous rice flour (mochi flour) with brown sugar because it’s symbolic of growing taller, achieving higher every year, that signifies a prosperous year awaiting ahead. 2025 is the year of snake (Chinese zodiac) There are many versions of nian gao, but they all have some common features: they are round, flat have a golden color, and sticky texture once cooked. Glutinous rice flour: To make nian gao, you need glutinous rice flour. Make sure you get glutinous rice flour and not regular rice flour. Enjoy the soft chewy rice cake fresh from the steamer or pan fry them for a smoky caramelized coating! Get into the spirit of the Lunar New Year with Aunty’s Smiling Sesame Cookie Balls (笑口棗) and Chinese Almond Cookies (杏仁餅)! Nian Gao or Nin Gou in Cantonese (“higher year”), is a sweet glutinous sticky rice cake that is enjoyed year round, but often a must-have during Chinese New Year, as the name sheds light to give progress, advancement, higher or taller, promising a better year ahead. 2. Prepare the equipments. Lightly grease an 8 inch can pan with nonstick spray and prepare a pot or pan of boiling water fitted with a bamboo steam basket or steaming rack. Nian gao (Chinese: 年糕; pinyin: niángāo; Jyutping: nin4 gou1), sometimes translated as year cake [1] [2] or New Year cake [1] [3] [4] or Chinese New Year's cake, is a food prepared from glutinous rice flour and consumed in Chinese cuisine. It is also simply known as "rice cake". [3] Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Sticky Rice Cake) Nian gao is perhaps the most popular and well-loved dessert associated with Chinese New Year. I can never say no to this sweet and sticky rice cake! Legend says that families would offer the cake to the Chinese Kitchen God in the hope that he’ll put in a good word for them when he goes back to heaven. The Lunar New Year is this Friday, January 31, 2014. One of the traditional dishes eaten during the New Year for Chinese people is a New Year Cake. It’s a very simple steamed cake, made with glutinous rice flour for a mochi-like chewy texture and sweetened with brown sugar. Radish cake, taro cake, water chestnut cake, and other varieties are also used as New Year’s rice cakes to celebrate the occasion. Taiwan rice cake: Over 70% of Taiwan’s Han population has ancestral origins in Southern Fujian, so Taiwan’s traditional rice cake is similar to those from Southern Fujian and Guangdong in mainland China. Chewy rice cakes, in many forms both sweet and savory, are popular in several Asian cuisines. The sticky rice cake dessert, Nian Gao, is not the same as the chewy rice cake ovalettes, also called Nian Gao, that are stir-fried in Shanghai cuisine. (Confused yet?) My baked Nian Gao is dense and chewy, similar to the texture of a soft gummy bear. KGO-TV in San Francisco is the official home of the 2025 Chinese New Year Parade. other food are staples such as sweet glutinous rice cakes (nian gao), sticky rice balls (tang yuan) and tik ko 六福純米年糕 Six Fortune Chinese New Year Glutinous Rice Cake 500g (Brown Sugar Ginger, 1 Pack) 3.7 out of 5 stars. 8. $16.89 $ 16. 89 ($0.96 $0.96 /Ounce) Thus the perfect cake for the Chinese New Year is the perfectly round Nian Gao, or 年糕, a celebration in itself of perfect harmony and balance. Also known as Chinese Sweet Rice Cake, Nian Gao is a delicious sweet treat that is made and served throughout the Chinese New Year, both to family and to visitors that drop by on their New Year's visits.
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