Red Bean Niangao (Rice Cake) 紅豆年糕
Niangao 年糕, directly translated as year cake, is made from glutinous rice flour (sweet rice flour) and traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat niangao during the new year because niangao is a homonym for 年高 (promotion or prosperity).
The traditional niangao is round and made with sweet rice flour and Chinese brown sugar plus a few jujubes (Chinese dates) on top. It is steamed or dipped in egg batter and pan-fried.
There are a few variations of niangao available (red bean, green bean, taro, etc.) but all of them have glutinous rice flour as the main ingredient. I prefer the red bean niangao as I love red bean, it gives the cake more flavor, something more than just sweet. Preparation-wise, I skip the steaming and just bake it. It gives it a crispy crust while still being sticky and chewy on the inside.
I hope you give this recipe a try. Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Shi Fa Cai! 恭禧發財!
Ingredients:
¾ cups of water
2 Chinese brown sugar bars
1 ½ cups of glutinous rice flour
4 tbsp of butter
2 small eggs
½ cup of coconut milk
½ cup of red bean paste
Directions:
1. Melt the brown sugar bars in ¾ cups of water over medium high heat. Set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the small eggs and coconut milk. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine glutinous rice flour, butter and hot brown sugar mix. Mix until the butter has melted.
4. Add the egg/coconut mix a little bit of time until all of it is incorporated.
5. Pour into a parchment line 9x9 baking pan.
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes at 350°F/175°C.
7. Remove from baking sheet and set aside to cool to room temp. Cut up and serve. Enjoy!
Notes:
You can also steam this if you wish. Steam over high heat for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Remove and let it cool to room temperature. At this point, you can cut up and serve. Or you can refrigerate for 3 hours, cut into slices, dip it into batter and pan-fry until brown on both sides.
If you don’t have coconut milk, you can use regular milk or water.
If you can't find Chinese brown sugar bars, you can use 1/2 cup of granulated sugar or brown sugar.
You can add up to 1cup of sugar depending on your sweet preference. I prefer to use less sugar because the red bean paste is already very sweet.
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“Gymnopedie” courtesy of AudioNetwork.com
