Arnold
Lara MChinese New Year foods
February 7th 2008 22:00
Different forms of the Chinese turnip/radish cake
The Chinese New Year is upon us for another year and I thought it would be interesting to write about what Chinese families typically eat during this festive period.
One of the must haves is the Chinese New Year cake or "Nian Gao" (translation: Year Cake), as it is known to locals. Made with glutinous rice flour, sugar (peen tong) and steamed for approximately 45 minutes, "Nian Gao" is brown in colour (due to the peen tong), sweet to the taste and chewy when eaten. It is also common to find Chinese dates, dried fruit and nuts inside the cake.
Steamed Nian Gao
The "Nian Gao" can be eaten straight after it has been steamed or allowed to cool before cutting into slices and frying them in a pan until golden brown. A common practice when frying slices of the cake is to dip them into eggs that have been beaten so that they don't stick to the pan and to add some texture.
Another cake that is eaten during Chinese New Year is the savoury Turnip/Radish Cake. The main ingredients in this cake include Chinese turnip/radish which is julienned, finely diced chinese black mushrooms, shredded dried scallops, chopped chinese sausages and rice flour. The turnip cake can be eaten steamed or fried.
Fried Nian Gao with eggs
(For those of you that have been to 'yum cha', you will likely be quite familiar with this cake as it is served throughout the year.)
And last but not least, the Water Chestnut cake is another food eaten over the festive period. Yellow and transparent in an almost jelly-like texture, shredded pieces of water chestnut can be clearly seen. This dish is also available at many Chinese restaurants that serve dim sum.
Here are the recipes for "Nian Gao", Turnip and Water Chestnut cakes should you wish to try and make some for yourself.
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