Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. People celebrate this festival by having reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve, giving out red packets, cleaning and decorating the house with red couplets. And of course, eating traditional Lunar New Year desserts!
It is believed that eating these festive cakes can bring fortune and prosperity because the general word of these pastries in Chinese (糕) sounds the same as “high”.
Have a great celebration and wish you a happy and prosperous Year of the Ox. Happy Lunar New Year!
1. Year Cake (年糕)
Year cake (also known as Chinese New Year’s cake or nian gao) is definitely the most iconic dessert in Lunar New Year. Chinese believes that eating Year cake can bring good luck in the coming year because the Chinese word “nian gao” sounds the same as “higher year”. If kids eat year cakes, they will grow taller and healthier; if adults eat year cakes, they will earn more and achieve more in the new year.
In Hong Kong, we usually pan-fried the sliced year cake with egg. So the cake will be slightly crispy outside and remain stretchy inside.
Year Cake Recipe
- Difficulty: ★★
- Time: 2 hours
- Serving: 8-inch
- 200g cane sugar (preferably 增城蔗糖)
- 300g glutinous rice flour (糯米粉)
- 50g rice flour (粘米粉)
- 100ml coconut cream (椰漿)
- 300ml water
- Salt
- (Optional) Red dates
- Add cane sugar and a bit of salt in 300ml water. Heat until sugar dissolves. Set aside and let cool.
- Combine glutinous rice flour and rice flour. Stir in sugar water. Knead until the dough is soft and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 1 hour.
- Pour coconut cream into the dough and mix well. Drain batter through a sieve.
- Pour batter into greased mould. Cover with aluminium foil and steam for 40 minutes over high heat. Decorate with red dates.
2. Turnip Cake (蘿蔔糕)
Turnip cake (aka radish cake) is not only a Lunar New Year lucky food, but also a popular Cantonese dim sum dish that is served all year round.
The word of radish in the Hokkien language (菜頭) sounds like “good fortune”. So Chinese believes that eating turnip cake in Lunar New Year can bring good fortune. The cake is usually sliced into rectangular pieces and pan-fried until both sides turn golden for serving.
As a regular dim sum in Cantonese restaurant, sliced turnip cake is commonly served with soy sauce, sweet sauce, hoisin sauce and/or chili sauce on the side. Alternatively, the turnip cake can be cut into cubes and fried with XO sauce.
The following turnip cake recipe is inherited from my mother. It may not be the best one, but is my favourite.
Turnip Cake Recipe
- Difficulty: ★★★
- Time: 2 hours
- Serving: 10-inch x 2
- 2 middle-sized white radishes
- 300g rice flour (粘米粉)
- 30g corn starch
- 500ml water (in total)
- 8 dried shrimps
- 6 dried scallops
- 2 Chinese sausages
- Soak dried shrimp, Chinese sausage and dried scallops in water for at least 1 hour until soft. Remove from water and chop into small pieces.
- Grate the turnip. Cook till soft. Season with salt, sugar, pepper and chicken powder.
- Add rice flour and corn starch into the turnip mixture with water.
- Mix with dried shrimp, Chinese sausage and dried scallops. Pour into moulds.
- Steam for 45 minutes.
3. Water Chestnut Cake (馬蹄糕)
Water chestnut cake is another festive cake for Lunar New Year. It is easy to make and almost requires no techniques when comparing to year cake and turnip cake. The main ingredients are just water chestnut flour and water.
This Cantonese dim sum dish looks translucent and has a soft texture. The cake is usually sliced into rectangular shapes and pan-fried for serving.
Water Chestnut Cake Recipe
- Difficulty: ★
- Time: 30 minutes
- Serving: 10-inch x 2
- 500g water chestnut flour
- 350g sugar
- 3000ml water
- 8 water chestnuts
- Dissolve water chestnut flour in 1500ml water.
- Dissolve sugar in additional 1500ml boiling water. Add chopped fresh water chestnut. Stir in 200g water chestnut flour mixture.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining water chestnut flour mixture.
- Pour batter into greased moulds. Cover with aluminium foil and steam for 20 minutes over high heat. Let cool.