炸年糕english

I had only planned to make Adzuki Nian Gao this year for the Chinese New Year Celebration, but I have been craving for this fried Nian Gao for such a long time that I ended up making another Nian Gao the traditional way.

The crust recipe of this fried Nian Gao has been fine tuned for years, this batch of crust turned out the best and the Nian Gao stays crispy hours after it was fried, it just hit the spot and just brought me right back home to those afternoon times, sharing this snack with my beloved family.

Note: The crust recipe is also perfect for Fried Banana, Fried Yam and Sweet Potato.

材料：

500 克 年糕

300 克 芋头

300 克 红薯/番薯

脆浆食谱：（大约20-25块炸糕的量）

50 克 粘米粉

50 克 蛋黄粉  （或 一只蛋黄代替）

100 克 低筋面粉 （或 80克中筋面粉加20克玉米淀粉）

15 克/ 1 大勺 食油

3 克/ 1/2 小勺 食盐

20 克 石灰水  （可无）

180-200 克  水 

Ingredients：

500 g of Nian Gao/Chinese Sweet Rice Cake

300 g of Yam

300 g of Sweet Potato

For crust batter： (To make around 20-25 pieces of fried Nian Gao）

50 g of Rice flour

50 g Custard powder （Or an egg yolk）

100 g of Cake flour (OR 80 g of all purpose flour and 20 g of Corn Starch)

15 g/ 1 tbsp of Cooking Oil

3 g/ 1/2 tsp of Salt

20 ml/g of Limewater   Optional

180-200 ml/g of water 

1. 先把脆浆调好，把所有脆浆食谱里的材料混合匀即可，把调好的面糊静置20分钟。

注：有石灰水的把20克石灰水和180克清水混合使用，没有石灰水的就用200克清水即可。

注2：调好的面糊应该是搅拌时有点阻力，往下滴漏时呈缓慢流线状的。我不喜欢太厚的糊，你如果喜欢炸好的年糕外壳厚一点的话可以酌量减少大约10克水调糊。

1. Place all ingredients listed under Crust batter in a mixing bowl, whisked together until smooth and set aside for 20 minutes. The consistency of batter should be like the one of pancake batter.

Note：Add 20 gm of limewater to 80 g of water if you have limewater ready at home, if not, just use 200 g of water.

Note 2：I liked my crust to be on the thinner side, if you liked yours a little thicker, just reduce the water to around 190 ml/g. 

2. 把年糕、芋头和红薯切成相等大小的片状，芋头和红薯夹着年糕摆好。起好油锅，热上2-3寸的油。

3. 取一份芋头红薯年糕夹均匀地浸到脆浆里挂上糊，入锅中火慢慢炸至金黄色，取出沥干即可。

2. Cut the rice cake, yam and sweet potato to similar sizes. Place the Nian Gao between yam and sweet potato to form a sandwich. Heat around 2-3 inches of oil in a frying pan.

3. Take one part of the trio and tightly hold them together with your fingertips, dipped into batter and swirl around to evenly coat with batter.

4. Deep fry the Nian Gao at medium heat until both sides are golden brown in color. Remove the Nian Gao from the hot oil and let it drain for a few minutes. Serve warm with Chinese tea. 

After joining Facebook, I realized there are many ways of eating niangao but I am used to deep frying niangao or pan fried niangao with eggs. Some ate by using a spoon to scoop out the sticky soft niangao and I definitely have no chance of trying this as all the niangao at home was used for the ancestral praying before reunion dinner. By the time we eat the niangao, it will be hard as stone .

I saw some ate the niangao by steaming the niangao until soft and coat with shredded coconut. I have never tried that either probably because my late parents immigrated directly from China and shredded coconut is not a common item in their daily cuisines.

I do have a more trendy recipe of eating niangao by wrapping the niangao in a puff pastry and bake in the oven. if you are interested, you can refer to this post: Nian Gao Puff (酥脆烘年糕） 

What I am sharing today is what my late mum used to prepare but with slight modification. At her time, all recipes are very simple, just eggs, water and plain flour. There is nothing like baking powder or self raising flour. As such, her niangao looked different from what I am sharing today which is more fluffy and crispier than her version though the taste is the same. I like this version as the aroma are very simple : some egg fragrance and the sweet niangao.

In view of the recent trends of eating niangao sandwiched  between sweet potatoes and yam, in the illustration, I have used yam and sweet potatoes too. But it seems that my family members prefer the one without yam and sweet potatoes possibly there do not like yam. I only eaten this version when I studied in Kuala Lumpur. I found that this version is common in Singapore also.

Well, if you sandwich with yam and sweet potatoes, one thing I have to advise readers is that nowadays, some niangao recipe is not as sweet as the traditional niangao I have eaten when I was young, therefore deep frying the niangao with yam may make it rather tasteless and not as nice as it should be. The sweetness have been diluted to the yam and hence overall taste is compromised. Another thing worth highlighting is that the sweet potatoes and yam should not be overly thick because it is difficult to cook and you have to adjust the heat accordingly.

I have two sets of picture in this illustration. One is just coating with flour and eggs and I am using the traditional niangao that I prepared a month ago. After a month, it had harden and I can successfully to slice it thinly and uniformly. Another one is with sesame seeds with yam and sweet potatoes and I am using the red bean niangao that i have prepared as in this post; Red Bean Niangao (红豆年糕）

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 3-4 adult servings

• 150 grams of self raising flour
• 150 grams of rice flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black or white sesame seeds (optional)
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoon of Eno fruit salt or 1/2 teaspoon of ammonia bicarbonate
• 300 grams or ml of plain water
• 6-8 pieces of niangao of the size of 6cm x 6cm x 1cm
• 6-8 pieces of yam of the size of 6cm x 6cm x 0.5cm
• 6-8 pieces of sweet potatoes of the size of 6cm x 6 cm x 0.5cm

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Put rice flour, self raising flour , salt and sesame seeds in a bowl, stir until well combined and make a well in the centre. Crack the egg and use a tablespoon to mix the egg with the flour . Add water gradually and continue mixing until it forms a smooth batter.

• Sandwich the nian gao with sweet potatoes and yam. If it is difficult to sandwich, smear some batter on the sides of the niangao and let the yam or sweet potatoes stick to it.

• Heat up a pot of oil under high heat.

• Put the Eno or ammonia bicarbonate into the batter, quickly stir until well combined. Put a piece of niangao (plus yam and sweet potatoes). Coat it evenly, and transfer to the hot oil. Reduce the heat to medium heat, and deep fried until the sides are golden brown. Before dishing out for draining, increase the heat to high and let it deep fried for at least 15 seconds such that the niangao will not be oily after dishing out.

CONCLUSION

This is a simple recipe and most granny will know how to prepare. What is different from their recipe is there is no Eno or self raising flour being used. Therefore, it will not be fluffy as it is seen in this post. Another way of serving niangao has been lined up and I will share soon. If you are looking for traditional way of serving niangao, you can try this recipe.

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