Sticky Mifan

Happy Year of the Dragon everyone! Sorry it’s been a while, I have been adjusting moving back home and starting a new job. I am excited to continue my food blog, and what better way to start than with Lunar New Year recipes! In the past, my family and I didn’t really celebrate Chinese New Year the traditional way. Instead of receiving Hong Bao (red envelops) during this time, instead we would pass them out during our family Christmas celebrations as this was when all of my mom’s side of the family got together. For the actual day of Chinese New Year, my family would celebrate by getting Chinese takeout.

It wasn’t until about two years ago in the spring of 2022, that I started to take more interest in how to celebrate Lunar New Year. Identifying as Chinese-American and being a baker and lover of sweets, my searches consisted of Chinese New Year desserts. Many other countries also celebrate Lunar New Year in different ways also with special new year dishes. I would love to learn more about Lunar New Year celebrations and foods for all participating countries! I will start with recipes that I have either previously made or have wanted to make due to its popularity/ how much I want to eat them lol 🙂 Within the coming years I hope to expand my knowledge of dishes and I hope to one day be able to cook a new year’s feast!

Let’s start with Nian Gao, also know as sticky rice cake. It’s said that those who eat this cake on the new year will gain taller, but it can also mean gaining wealth for adults. Combining recipes from What to Cook Today and the Woks of Life, I was able to make an easy version of Nian Gao at home using ingredients I already had.

Ingredients

• 3.24 cups glutinous rice flour
• 2.5 cups water
• 4 slices of ginger
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp oil
• Jujube/ goji berry for the middle

First, slice up some ginger, removing the skin and cutting into medium slices. These will be added into your sugar water mix to flavor your nian gao. Next, in a pot add the sugars and water and bring to a light simmer until the sugars are dissolved. Once nice and mixed together, take out the ginger slices and add the sugar water to the glutinous rice flour. Make sure to mix everything in well so that there are no pockets of flour. Adding in the oil will help smooth it out. Keep whisking until it is all combined. The batter should be silky and slight on the watery side. Next, grab a cake tin brushing oil on the inside, pour your batter in. Take a big pot and bring water to a boil, make sure that the pot is big and deep enough for the cake pan and it can close with a lid on. Add in the jujube/ goji berry in the center of the cake. On medium heat, steam your nian gao for at least an hour or until the batter sets in. You will know when you cake is done, as the center of the cake will wiggle/jiggle a bit but is firmly set and not liquidy anymore.

After letting the cake cool, you can slice it up however you like, slices/slabs, triangles, or diamonds. Eating nian gao like this, it will be soft and chewy. Another way is to fry it up, I personally like this version as you get a nice crisp bite with a warm chewy center. Let me know which of these methods you enjoy!

Nian Gao before frying, soft and chewy!

Nian gao after frying, a clear crispy skin starting to form.