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Nian Gao with Egg
Chinese like to keep nian gao or Chinese New Year Cake at home during the lunar new year celebrations for auspiciousness. The Chinese word “nian gao” 年糕 sounds like “higher year” so it signifies greater success in the coming year. The stickiness also represents family togetherness and closeness.
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After the celebrations, my mother will usually pan-fry the nian gao with egg for breakfast. She will dip the nian gao slices in nothing else but beaten egg, but trying her method out myself, I find that the egg do not stick to the nian gao well. So I made a light egg batter with flour and I find that the egg batter works much better this time round. Try out this easy recipe if you have leftover nian gao lying around. Serve it with Chinese tea to aid digestion as nian gao is sticky and filling.
For ease of cutting the nian gao, refrigerate it overnight before cutting.
Consistency of the egg batter (semi-thick and smooth).
I just had nian gao for breakfast yesterday but I just fried it with beaten eggs only. Can I use potato starch instead of flour for the egg-flour batter ?
Hi sorry I am not sure if it will turn out too starchy as I have not tried it before, but you can give it a try.
This is how we ate nian gao when we were younger too :)
I love to eat this with fish and milk. Tea is also good to serve with…
The fried cake pieces look golden and delicious! What a great use of leftover cakes.
Intriguing! Like toast, or prata, but those who know nian gao, know that it’s sticky and sweet and so this dish comes across really intriguingly. Feels like I’ve had it before in my youth but it’s been so long, I wish I could taste this right now!
Hey.. I would just like to ask can I replace the flour with cornflour? :)
yup, you can do so.
Hi,
It looks good. But just a question though.
How do you preserve your nian gao?
Mine always gets fungus on it even when I cut them into small pieces and put them in an airtight container in the fridge.
I usually put my nian gao in a spring roll wrap and fry them.
Happy New Year in advance!
I never have problem with fungus as I put them in the fridge. Don’t even need container. But I only slice them before cooking, not beforehand.
Love this dish very much but does it matter if the Nian gao is hard or soft? Cos my Nian Gao is soft now
check out page 2 of the recipe for tip on how to cut nian gao easily.
May I know the purpose of using ice water?
It helps the batter to be crispier, but you can always use normal water if preferred.
Half tablespoon of baking soda made the crust bitter after I tasted the fried niangao. Are you sure it is half tablespoon and not teaspoon?