Nian Gao Recipe
Submitted by Luann Ji
What better way to celebrate the Lunar New Year than with some dessert!
Nian Gao (年糕) is a traditional sweet rice cake that is present at the table during the Lunar New Year in China. Since the pronunciation of Nian Gao translates to ‘high year’ or ‘tall year’, families will consume it during this holiday for good luck as it symbolizes the promise of a better year. With the festivities coming up, this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, “The Spruce Eats,” is convenient and simple to follow for making a celebratory Lunar New Year cake.
Ingredients
- 16 oz mochiko sweet rice flour or glutinous rice flour (plus a bit extra for sprinkling on the baking dish)
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter OR ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 cup sugar (to taste)
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1 can red azuki beans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place all of the ingredients (except the red azuki beans) in a bowl and mix.
- Sprinkle some Mochiko flour/glutinous rice flour into the baking dish and then add half of the batter from the bowl.
- Add and spread the red adzuki beans on top.
- Pour the other half of the batter over the red azuki beans.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. To see if it is finished, insert a chopstick and if it comes out clean, it is done.
*Tip: Glutinous rice flour can be hard to work with for the first time. The batter is supposed to appear liquid like. When baking, the flour will later absorb the water. Also, when adding the red adzuki beans, they might sink a little which is fine.
Works Cited
Parkinson, Rhonda. “Here’s How to MAKE Baked Nian Gao, a Chinese New YEAR CAKE.” The Spruce Eats, 8 Aug. 2019, https://www.thespruceeats.com/baked-chinese-new-year-cake-694270.
Photo credit: Melinda Chan
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