This is my go-to sticky rice cake recipe when I'm short on time and it feeds a lot of people.
Before I get into the how-to, I just want to share a little on the history of these sticky rice cakes in China. It seems I see a lot on how Japanese mochi is made and how Korean Tteok is made, but not much on how Chinese nian gao is made. Mochi, tteok, and nian gao are all sticky rice cakes, but from different countries.
Each region in China has its own style of sticky rice cakes and their own method of preparation. Ningbo, a city close to Shanghai, is famous for its sticky rice cakes. Their style of rice cakes is made through pounding as shown in the image below.
This is a very similar creation process to Japanese mochi. The image above shows the creation of sweet rice cakes but they also come in bricks which can be used in cooking for both sweet and savoury applications.
In Shanghai, they are most often used in savoury applications where the bricks are sliced into coins and stir fried with vegetables and meats which I also have a recipe for but haven't had the time to write up yet.
Other regions have their own version. Here are a couple:
Hong Kong:
Rice Bowl Tales has an awesome blog with absolutely STUNNING photos. You have have to go check them out!
Haerbin:
And more haha. There are A LOT of styles of sticky rice cakes.
I think I've rambled on enough. This is my recipe and it's by no means traditional, but it is easy and quick.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound glutinous rice flour or sweet rice flour or mochiko which is about 3 3/4 cups
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cups canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanila
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, coconut milk, evaporated milk, oil and eggs and mix to combine.
3. Add the brown sugar and mix. Then add the salt, vanilla and baking powder and mix. You don't have to mix 3 times, but I like to do it to get a more even consistency and it makes it easier to combine everything.
4. Pour into a greased 8 by 11 baking pan and bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes depending on your oven. Mine took 30 minutes.
5. To test if it's done, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean, it's done.
6. Let it cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Video recipe available here:
Enjoy!
And here are some of the ingredients I used for your reference. Hopefully you'll be able to find it in your local Asian market or grocery store.
Cheers! Happy Cooking and Happy New Year!
