Three ways to enjoy Chinese New Year nian gao

SINGAPORE – Rounds of nian gao are everywhere in the lead-up to Chinese New Year.

For some, it is a festive must-have, the way mandarin oranges are, because of its auspicious meaning. The steamed, sweet glutinous rice cakes are meant to symbolise a “higher year”, since “gao” in Chinese sounds like “high” or “tall”.

People believe it is good luck to eat it during the 15 days of Chinese New Year. Some popular ways to cook it include dipping slices of nian gao in egg and pan-frying them, or sandwiching nian gao between slices of yam and sweet potato, coating the bundles in batter and frying.

Depending on how long your nian gao has been sitting out, it might have developed patches of mould. Think of that as a sign of prosperity. That said, the mould must be sliced off before cooking.

Nian also sounds like “sticky” in Chinese, and for good reason.

A serrated knife, like a bread knife, is useful for making clean cuts. In between slicing, dip the knife in very hot water, so the nian gao does not stick too badly to the knife. I find that cutting the nian gao on a sheet of baking paper works well to prevent it from sticking to the cutting board.

Here are three ways to have nian gao.

Steamed Nian Gao With Coconut

Ingredients

Method

1. Prepare your steamer. If you do not have one, half fill a wok or large pot with water, place a metal rack in it, cover and bring the water to a boil.

2. Mix the grated coconut with the salt. Spoon the mixture evenly onto a metal or ceramic steaming plate that will fit into the steamer. Place the cubes of nian gao on top of the coconut, making sure the pieces do not touch.

3. Place the plate in the steamer and steam over high heat for eight minutes.

4. Remove the plate from the steamer, roll the top and sides of the nian gao in the coconut using a fork, transfer onto a serving plate and serve immediately.

Serves four to six as a snack

Nian Gao & Cheese Rice Paper Rolls

Ingredients

Method

1. Cut the nian gao and cheese into eight portions that are of the same size and shape. I opt for batons, but you can also do slices.

2. Fill a large bowl with water, and have a cutting board ready for the wrapping. Also line a plate or tray with baking paper for the wrapped rolls.

3. Dip a sheet of rice paper in the water until it softens. Place it on the cutting board. Place one nian gao and cheese bundle on the rice paper and roll it up, like you would a spring roll. Soften another sheet of rice paper and double wrap the roll you just made. Repeat for the rest of the bundles. You should have eight rolls.

4. Pour enough oil into a frying pan, so it goes about 0.5cm up the side, and place the pan over medium heat. When you see little wisps of smoke float from the oil, place the rolls in the pan. Do not crowd the pan, and fry in batches if necessary. When both sides are light golden brown, place the rolls on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Despite your best efforts, some cheese will leak, and the crisp, lacy wisps of cheese are why this is one of my favourite ways to eat nian gao.

Serves four as a snack

Nian Gao Waffles

Ingredients

Method

1. Prepare a batch of pancake mix, following the instructions on the packet. I use Morinaga hotcake mix, and sometimes swop the milk with coconut milk.

2. Stir in the cubes of nian gao.

3. Brush the waffle iron with cooking oil or melted butter, scoop in the batter, cover and cook until your desired doneness. My machine makes tiny, 10.5cm waffles and I find that seven to eight minutes gives me a crisp exterior and a plush centre. A 150g sachet of the hotcake mix makes four waffles in my machine.

4. Other options: Using cubes of nian gao yield pockets of pleasure in the waffle; use thin slices of nian gao instead for blanket mochi-ness. Make the pancake batter without nian gao. Pour about half of what you would normally use for a waffle into the waffle iron. Place thin slices of nian gao on top so it covers the surface of the waffle in one layer, and spoon more batter over the nian gao. Cover and cook. If you do not have a waffle iron, make pancakes, using batter with cubed nian gao mixed in.

5. Top with ice cream or fruit and serve immediately.