How is nian gao eaten?

Despite the paucity of ingredients, a nian gao evokes so many wonderful things: almonds, dates, and vanilla; caramel, toffee, and cream. You eat it hot, when it is at its chewy best, and its texture marvelous: tacky and soft, with brown sugary strings that pull from your mouth when you take a bite.

What is nian gao made out of?

Celebrate Lunar New Year with nian gao (年糕), a steamed rice cake made of glutinous rice flour and brown sugar.

How long can I keep nian gao in the fridge?

I hope you ate the Nian gao cake already. If you are going to eat it in less than 10 days, just leave it in the fridge, tightly sealed in a ziplock bag. But for longer storage, say a month or so, you could wrap it in plastic wrap, then a paper towel, then inside a freezer bag.

Does nian gao need refrigerated?

The traditional way of making nian gao takes about 20 hours of steaming until all the water content is gone. Therefore, it can be stored for a very long time without the need to be refrigerated.

Should nian gao be refrigerated?

At day 3, the nian gao will be much more firm and can be sliced. After day 3, I recommend to wrap them up and keep them in the refrigerator or they can start to get moldy (because we don’t put preservatives). They can keep for months in the freezer however.

Will nian gao expire?

Nian Gao can last for weeks in the fridge. Grandma used to leave them out to air dry for days and simply cut off the parts that were starting to mold before she pan fried them.

What does a Nian look like?

Long, long ago in ancient China, there was a fierce beast called “Nian”. Its head looked like a lion with a sharp horn on it which could be used to attack its prey. It lived at the bottom of the sea most of the time and would go ashore only on the last day of the lunar year to eat people and livestock.

Who scared away the Nian?

The tradition has its origins in a story of a nian’s attack on a village. After the attack, the villagers discussed how to make the nian leave them in peace. Since it was discovered that the beast was afraid of the color red, people put red lanterns and spring scrolls on their windows and doors.