welcome to Mrs. Lin's Kitchen
next week is Chinese New Year
and today I'm going to show you lucky food
that's eaten often during this time of the year
it's called Nian Gao
Nian Gao means year high
nian sounds for year
and gao for high and tall
in Mandarin Chinese
so this cake symbolizes rising to a new high
in the coming year
nian gao is traditionally made of glutinous rice and sugar
but today I'm going to show you a different variation
so let's get started now
with nian gao
you can add more or less sugar
depending on how sweet you would like for it to be
you may also use a flavorless oil
to coat the pan instead of coconut oil
since it is simply to keep the nian gao from sticking to the pan
you may eat the nian gao as is
or fry them as well
start by combining the sweet rice with a short grain rice
wash thoroughly
then add enough water to cover the rice
allow it to soak overnight in your refrigerator
to prepare the next day
once the rice has had time overnight to soak up the water
drain the water out as best as you can
you will notice that the rice is now
nice and plump
place the rice into a blender
then add two cups of fresh water
and blend them in the mixer
slowly raise the speed
as you blend
and blend for about two minutes
or until the mixture is smooth
prepare a bowl
and place a cheesecloth over it
pour small amount of the rice mixture through the cloth
then wring it out as much of the liquid as possible
from the rice mixture
repeat this process until you have used up the entire mixture
and you will end up with a white dough-like substance of the rice
pour into a separate bowl
and take as much as you can off the cheesecloth
when finished
pour in the sugar with the rice mixture
and knead for 5 to 10 minutes
kneading with your hands allows the warmth
and energy to slowly dissolve the mixture
to its desired batter-like result
once finished
you will then want to coat your pan thoroughly with oil
then pour the mixture into the pan
prepare your wok on high heat
and about 6 cups of water
place the lid over it
and wait for the water to begin boiling
once the water is boiling
place the bamboo steamer over the water
and set the pan into the top layer
for our batch of nian gao
we are using a 14-inch wok with the 12 inch bamboo steamer
you will want to use a steamer
that is about 2 inches smaller than your wok
for steaming
cooking the nian gao
will take approximately two and a half hours
or until the water has evaporated
allow the nian gao to cool
then eat as is
or cut into small, one-inch cubed to deep fry them
to make the batter to deep-fry the nian gao
combine one cup of flour
3/4 cup of water
1 egg
and a pinch of salt
mix thoroughly into a batter
then place the 1 inch cubes into the bowl
to coat them in the batter
pour cooking oil into your wok
and allow to heat up
you can drop a small dab of batter
to see if the oil is ready
if the drop rises to the top quickly
then your oil is ready to cook
start placing the batter-covered nian gao
into the oil
and move around frequently
to ensure that they do not stick to each other
you will also want to adjust the heat
to make sure they do not cook too quickly
once they are nice golden brown
then they are all ready
prepare them fried as is
or with sesame seeds on top for your family and friends to enjoy
now the nian gao has been made
so let me give you some tips
nian gao can be eaten warm
cold or deep fry
it depend on your preference
nian gao when it's cooled
it actually hardens
if you want your nian gao a little bit stickier tasting
then add a little bit more glutinous rice
if you want your nian gao
a little bit firmer and harder
then add more short grain rice to it
so just try to adjust the ratio
between the glutinous rice as well as the short grain rice
and I hope you enjoy learning how to make nian gao
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and happy eating as well as happy Chinese New Year