Celebrate Lunar New Year with a Chinese classic, Nian Gao. Also known as 年糕 in China and Gato Lasir in Mauritius, this waxy cake is made with Glutinous Rice Flour and brown sugar. Read on to discover our take on the traditional recipe.
INGREDIENTS
9
RECIPE STEPS
11
TOTAL TIME
1 h 30 m
About Nian Gao ( 年糕 or Gato Lasir)
There are few dishes that bring together my Chinese and Mauritian heritage like Gato Lasir. This waxy brown cake is traditionally made in China around Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year). The Chinese name (Nian Gao) for this cake consists of the character “年” which means “year”. And “糕” which roughly translates to “cake.” Put together, 年糕 means New Year’s Cake.
In Chinese culture, it is common to eat dishes that carry auspicious meanings during new year celebrations. In the case of Nian Gao, the pronunciation of “糕” also sounds like the pronunciation of the character “高,” which means “high” or “tall”. Therefore, if you eat 年糕 during Lunar New Year, the upcoming year will be “年高,” a higher, better year than the last.
From China to Mauritius
The recipe was brought to Mauritius by Chinese immigrants and it has become a staple of Sino-Mauritians over the generations. While the cakes are pretty much identical, the way they are eaten varies a bit between Mauritius and China. But we’ll get back to that a little bit later.
Star Ingredients
Glutinous Rice Flour (Nuò Mǐ Fěn)
As its name suggests, Glutinous Rice Flour is made by grinding Glutinous (or Sticky) Rice. It is a crucial ingredient to make Nian Gao because it creates the sticky (waxy) texture.
READ MORE: Why Glutinous Rice Flour is such as versatile ingredient →
Kansui (梘水/鹼水)
Kansui (also known as jian shui or lye water) is an alkaline solution that controls the acidity when making batter or dough. It consists of 80% potassium carbonate and 20% sodium bicarbonate. It is a key ingredient in making Gato Lasir if you want the dark brown colour. As a side story, the Japanese also use it when making ramen noodles.
Other Ingredients
- Ginger, ground
- Salt
- Brown Sugar, packed
- Water
- Coconut Milk, full-fat
- Rice Bran Oil
- Jujube, for garnish
Scroll to the bottom to find the full list of ingredients and detailed recipe.
Complete Recipe Steps
Here’s a summary of the steps you need to follow to make Nian Gao ( 年糕 or Gato Lasir).
1
In a large bowl, mix together the glutinous rice flour, ground ginger, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
2
Add water and brown sugar to saucepan and bring to the boil. Continue until sugar has dissolved completely.
Scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card
3
Turn off the heat and pour in the coconut milk, rice bran oil and kansui. Stir in and let the mixture cool for up to 10 minutes.
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How to Serve Nian Gao
The cultural difference is quite striking here. While Sino-Mauritians enjoy chomping down on raw Gato Lasir, the Chinese prefer to pan fry their Nian Gao in batter. The recipe is a very simple one.
All you have to do is cut the cake into 1 cm slices and coat them in beaten egg. Afterwards, lightly fry each slice in oil until the sides blister. The texture you’re aiming for here is soft and chewy in the middle, and a little bit crispy on the outside.
Recipe
Nian Gao ( 年糕 or Gato Lasir)
Equipment
- large wok with lid
- steaming rack
Ingredients
- 455 g glutinous rice flour
- 4 tsp ginger ground
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1 ½ cups water
- 225 g coconut milk full-fat
- 2 tsp rice bran oil plus more for greasing
- 1 tsp Kansui optional
- 1 jujube for garnish
Complete Recipe Steps
- In a large bowl, mix together the glutinous rice flour, ground ginger, and salt. Set the bowl aside.455 g glutinous rice flour, 4 tsp ginger, ½ tsp salt
- Add water and brown sugar to saucepan and bring to the boil. Continue until sugar has dissolved completely.1 ½ cups water, 2 cups brown sugar
- Turn off the heat and pour in the coconut milk, rice bran oil and kansui. Stir in and let the mixture cool for up to 10 minutes.225 g coconut milk, 1 tsp Kansui, 2 tsp rice bran oil
- Gently stir the cool liquid into the large bowl with the flour mixture. I would recommend adding in a quarter of the liquid at a time and stirring until uniform before adding more in.
- Stir the batter for a few minutes. It will initially feel quite stiff but should loosen up after about one minute. Keep stirring until only a few small lumps of flour remain.
- Place a fine mesh strainer over a second bowl and pour the batter mixture through the mesh. This step helps to remove any leftover lumps in the batter.
- Lightly grease a 20 cm round cake pan and pour the batter in. Hold the cake pan and tap it gently on the kitchen bench to get rid of air bubbles. Then cover with aluminium foil.
- Place your steaming rack inside a large wok and fill with water until 1 cm below the top of the rack.
- Cover wok with lid and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling, carefully place the cake on the rack and cover with lid again. Lower the head to medium and steam the cake for up to one hour. Halfway through, add more water to replace what has evaporated.
- To test if the cake is cooked, insert a chopstick into its centre and dig out some of the cake. It should look brown and slightly translucent. If cake is ready, place a jujube over the centre to decorate (and cover the hole).
- Once the Gato Lasir is cooked, let it cool on the kitchen bench overnight. The following morning, wrap it in foil and transfer to the fridge.
Notes
- Don't use a toothpick to test if the cake is ready. The reason for this is because it might still come out clean even if the cake isn't fully cooked yet.
- Kansui adds a bit of depth to the colour of the cake. However, if you can't find it at your local shops, you can bypass the ingredient. Overall, this shouldn't affect the flavour.
