nián gāo

Nian Gao means "sticky cake" in Chinese, but is more commonly known as rice cakes. I remember this dish being a staple at every Chinese potluck party I went to as a kid. Glistening with a coat of sesame oil, a big ceramic bowl would emerge from the microwave, reheated, its contents steaming and amorphous. Simple to make ahead and reheat, it's also quite a filling dish, sticking to everything it adheres to, your teeth, roof of your mouth, your ribs, and then your gut. Not fatty nor even heavy, nian gao are made from ground-up glutinous rice. They are then shaped into "ovalettes," or at least that's what you'll find on the packaging at most Asian markets.

nian gao "ovalettes"

This dish is the savory version of making nian gao, but around Chinese New Year, there's a sweet cake-like variety that's given from family to family, with many probably being re-gifted. It would be the Chinese equivalent of fruitcake. You may have seen it at the store, it comes in a large, dense round, oftentimes, colored maroon or red, always in a vacuum-sealed bag. The store-bought versions are disgustingly sweet; I much prefer the homemade ones made by our family friend (she adds red beans and sometimes mung beans), steamed or friend, then sliced and dipped in sugar.

This has always been a comfort food for me, sticky and warm, with the perfect balance of sticky rice, vegetables and meat. My family doesn't eat too much of it, since it's more of a Southern Chinese dish, from the Shanghai region. When heated in the wok, the nian gao slowly melt and give way to the rest of the components of the dish, beautifully melding everything together with its release of starches. If you've ever had Korean dduk (the thick rope-shaped rice cakes), you'll know what I'm talking about. Nian gao are basically the same thing, just flatter from being sliced on the bias from a similar rope shape.

Typically nian gao is stir-fried with some type of cabbage (most prefer Napa), pork, bamboo shoots, and shitake mushrooms, but you can also use other greens like bok choy, mustard greens, or Chinese broccoli.


Stir-fried Nian Gao
serves 4

2-3 cups nian gao slices, fresh (frozen) or dried
4 cups Napa cabbage, chopped into 1" wide pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4" slices
5 shitake mushrooms, sliced
1/4 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1/8" slices, then slivered
2 Tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
vegetable oil, for stir-frying

1. The night before, soak nian gao in cold water. Drain well the next day just prior to using.

2. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil over high heat in the wok, and cook the pork with 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine, half the ginger and garlic until no longer pink. Remove and set aside.

3. With wok still heated, add 1 Tbsp oil. Over high heat, cook the cabbage, carrots and shitake until the cabbage starts to wilt, about 2 minutes. Stir in the nian gao and cook to desired consistency, about 3-5 minutes. Along with the nian gao, add in the reserved pork, remaining Shaoxing wine, ginger and garlic, oyster and soy sauce, sugar and white pepper. Just before serving, stir in the sesame oil over medium heat. Serve immediately.

"eight treasures" rice pudding

The Chinese New Year was this past week, and I was with my parents, celebrating in the only way we know... with gluttonous amounts of food! There are a few traditional dishes we eat on New Year's day that are also served in every household all over Northern China. These include:

pork dumplings (always boiled, not pan-fried)
steamed fish with ginger and scallion (for luck in the new year)
cold noodle salad (for longevity)
Northern Chinese style chopped salad
stewed red dates
steamed "pearl" balls (minced pork meatballs covered in sticky rice)
Ba Bao Fan (eight treasures rice pudding)

There's a story or a meaning to every dish that's served on New Year's. Most are meant to bring fortune and happiness, much luck and many sons. Eight is an auspicious number in Chinese culture (it rhymes with the Chinese word for wealth). Congee is often served mixed with eight different ingredients, as well as teas, tapioca soups, and rice pudding. These eight ingredients can be a medley of all sorts of dried fruits and nuts, but there are the traditional selections, all meant to balance the yin and the yang in the body when eaten. These include:

dried lily bulbs
red dates (jujubes)
dried longan (a fruit)
lotus seeds
red beans
mung beans
goji berries
peanuts
pinenuts
walnuts

Of course, some of these many not be easily obtainable, so other ingredients can be substituted like dried cranberries, apricots, raisins, and pecans.

My mom makes this version of sticky rice pudding, with layer after layer of rice and sweet nuts and fruits. No matter how many ingredients you use, this dish will always be called Eight Treasures Rice Pudding, so don't fret if you can't find all the traditional dried goods. This dish is even better the second day, warmed up in the microwave, sticky and gooey for a wholesome breakfast.

Mom's "Eight Treasures" Rice Pudding

2 cups glutinous rice
3 Tbsp honey
vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl

OTHER LAYERS**:
1 can red bean paste
1/2 cup red dates, soaked overnight, chopped into bitesize pieces
1/2 cup toasted pinenuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup goji berries, soaked overnight

**you can use any medley of dried fruits and nuts of your choice (see list above)

1. Steam the glutinous rice in a rice maker with 2 cups of water. Once done, let cool, and mix in the honey. Set aside.

2. Grease with the oil a deep ceramic bowl, or a pudding mold, if you have one. Sprinkle a handful of dried nuts and fruits at the bottom, and cover with a thin layer of the cooled rice. Smear on a layer of red bean paste, and top with another handful of nuts and fruits. Repeat the process until the bowl is full.

3. Cover with a plate and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. Set another heavy bowl on top to press together the layers of rice. When ready, invert the rice out onto a serving plate. Serve with sugar or honey.

nasi goreng: indonesian fried rice

I had Nasi Goreng for the first time at a tiny Indonesian eatery in Hong Kong many years ago. Having ordered it as a sidedish, we were greatly surprised when we dug in to find that it's sufficient enough to be a meal all by its lonesome. Think Indonesian-style paella. Traditionally it's made with leftover rice, a good deal of chunks of chicken and shrimp, fried egg, and sprouts. (It can also be made sans meat.) Very often, it's served for breakfast in both Indonesian and Malaysian households. Hey, I'll take a bowl of this over a bowl of soggy cereal and milk any day!

I must warn you that one of the key ingredients in this dish is fermented shrimp paste, otherwise known as the ultimate babe repellant. The pungent odor can be somewhat of a social deterrent, to say the least. To the Western nostril, shrimp paste can smell quite offensive. It's prepared by sun-drying ground shrimp paste and then compressing into large blocks that are then cut and portioned. I personally don't mind the smell that much; however I think my tiny apartment was a bit overwhelmed, as it is more used to smells of buttery cookies and cakes baking in the oven!

As with any popular dish, this one has many versions. Most use shrimp paste or fish sauce for flavoring, others use kecap manis, a syrup-like sweet soy sauce, prolific in Indonesian cuisine. I used tamarind concentrate, shrimp paste, turmeric for color, and a bit of coconut milk to balance out the strong flavors. I had no chicken or shrimp on hand, so I used some bacon for the protein and added smokiness.

3 cups cooked white rice (use leftover chinese takeout rice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 in. piece fresh ginger, minced
1 small onion, diced
3 small red chilis, seeded and chopped
2 tsp tamarind paste or concentrate
2 tsp shrimp paste
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp sugar
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup coconut milk
3 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
basil and coriander, for garnish

Nasi Goreng

In a wok, scramble eggs and set aside. Cook bacon until crisp, set aside, reserving some of the oil in the pan to cook the onions with the peas until onions are golden. Set aside with the eggs and bacon.
Mix together tamarind, shrimp paste, turmeric, sugar, lime juice, and coconut milk.
Cook garlic, ginger, jalapenos, and chilis with 2 Tbsp oil for 1 min. Add the tamarind mixture and cook 1 more minute. Add the rice and stir to coat until the rice grains are warmed through and appears glossy. Stir in the reserved eggs, bacon, onion and peas. Stirfry for about another 2 minutes.
To plate, scoop the rice into a greased bowl, packing down tight. Invert the bowl onto a plate and unmold. Garnish with basil and coriander.