Monday, January 25, 2016

Nian Gao 年糕 by Angela Seah Thulin


A traditional steamed Chinese New Year cake in Singapore. So what is Nian Gao?
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nian_gao

The direct translation of nian gao (年高) means 'year high' which symbolizes higher position, growth of children... Generally, a better year...




Ingredients -
620g hot boiling water
400g glutinous rice flour, sifted
400g granulated sugar
Optional - Few pieces of banana leaves

Steps -
1. Optional - Rinse and then wipe dry your banana leaves with a cloth. Lay them on your mould. More fragrant if using banana leaves.
2. In a pot, melt the sugar with low heat. After it turns brown, add in the hot boiling water slowly. Stir till all sugar melt. Set it aside and let it cool completely.
3. In a big bowl, add in the sifted glutinous rice flour and stir to mix well. Then sieve the liquid to remove lumps.
4. In a pot, pour the above liquid in with low heat and cook that liquid till it turns alittle thick. Then sieve it again to remove lumps.
5. Steam your mould for 5 minutes.
6. Pour the ready liquid into moulds and steam for 60 minutes.

Notes -
1. I steamed my nian gao for 1.5 hours.
2. There shouldn't be any lumps so remember to sieve your liquid. 
3. Do not skip point 4 and note to cook it with low heat and stir well.
4. Point 2, i cooked the sugar to slightly dark brown.
5. After resting this nian gao for 21days, i find there is no sweetness at all after steaming it, i would probably add another 30g sugar the next time.

Thanks Cindy for sharing the recipe to me :)