Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Glutinous Rice Cake 年糕)

5 from 2 votes

Nian Gao is a traditional and delicious way to welcome the Lunar New Year! Enjoy the soft rice cake fresh or pan fry them for a caramelized coating!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 5

Batter Resting Time20

Total Time1 40

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Lunch, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Cantonese, Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 287kcal

Sieve
cake tin or round foil trays (cake tins with removable bases will make it easier to take out)
aluminium foil
toothpick/fork (or any surface smoothing utensil)

Cook the dark brown sugar slabs and water on medium heat until the sugar has melted. Let it cool until warm.
Combine the glutinous rice flour and wheat starch in a bowl.
Pour the sweet syrup into the flour mixture bit by bit while stirring it through. Do this until it's all mixed into a thick but runny batter.
Lightly oil the surface of your cake tin. We used a 20cm (8") cake tin with a removable base to make to easier to take out.
Pro Tip: Keep the oil layer thin so it doesn't make the steamed surface lumpy.
Note: When Aunty made it, she used four 15cm (6") round foil trays so she could give them as gifts.
Use a sieve to hover over the cake tin and pour the batter through. This will help to remove clumps.
Hold the cake tin and gently tap the base against the counter to force any air bubbles to rise. Use a toothpick to pop the bubbles and smooth out the surface.
Wrap the top of the cake tin with aluminium foil. Make sure there are no gaps.
Set your steamer up and steam the batter on high heat for 1 hour or until cooked.
When ready, take the rice cake out and insert a red date in the middle. You can push the whole date in or halve it and place it on top.
Slice and serve the Nian Gao immediately as is or lightly pan fry them with egg!

Use a dark sugar. The darker it is, the richer the final color after it steams.
Cover with foil or plastic wrap. As the Nian Gao steams, make sure it's covered with foil or plastic wrap to prevent holes from forming and water droplets landing on its surface.
Avoid over-mixing. This will work more air bubbles into it, which can form holes on the surface if not tapped out.
Keep the sugar syrup warm when mixing. The cooler the syrup is, the less chewy the final rice cake will be, which isn't ideal.
You can find glutinous rice flour and wheat starch in Asian supermarkets. They're often sold in small plastic bags.
Asian grocers will also sell brown sugar slabs, but if you can't find any, then a darker sugar like palm sugar or gula melaka will do.