Nian gao can be served in different ways, one of the popular ways is fried nian gao. Nian gao (年糕) is a Chinese New Year cake that is made from glutinous rice. Nian gao means sticky cake, it is a homonym for “higher year.” It is a must-have food during Chinese New Year as it has the symbolism of raising oneself higher in the coming year.
CHINESE VERSION: 芋头番薯炸年糕
Taro Sweet Potato Fried Nian Gao (Kuih bakul Goreng) | MyKitchen101en
Yields: 15-17 pcs
Ingredients:
- 15-17 slices taro
- 15-17 slices sweet potato
- 15-17 slices nian gao [Please refer: Simple Version Caramel Nian Gao (a.k.a. Kuih Bakul)]
Ingredients for batter:
- 250 g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp fine salt
- 25 g margarine
- about 340 ml plain water
Instructions:
1 Preheat 600 ml of cooking oil to 150°C, turn to medium heat, add in taro and sweet potato, fry for about 2 minutes until half-cooked, drain off the oil.
2 Sandwich 1 slice of nian gao with 1 slice of taro and 1 slice of sweet potato.
3 Whisk together plain flour, baking powder and salt until well blended.
4 Rub margarine into flour mixture.
5 Add in water gradually while mixing, until you have a batter with thick consistency (adjust the amount of water added base on your flour as the water absorption capacity for different brands of flour is different).
6 Preheat 600 ml of cooking oil to 150°C, test the heat of the oil with some batter.
7 Turn to medium heat, coat each set of taro-sweet potato-nian gao with the batter, then deep-fry in the heated oil.
8 Turn the pieces over when the bottom starts to turn golden brown.
9 When both sides have turned golden brown, turn to high heat and continue frying for 1 minute.
10 Remove the fried nian gao from heat and put on a strainer ladle to strain the oil.
11 Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storing fried nian gao: Put fried nian gao in a freezer-safe container and store in freezer to maintain the freshness.
Reheating frozen fried nian gao:
1 Preheat oven toaster for 2 minutes.
