"You are the FIRST person to bai nian--you are the first to call us this year!" -Dad (Chinese New Year's Eve--they are a day ahead in Shanghai)
Already teary-eyed, I called my extended fam next. They were all gathered for dinner at my aunt's house, where my mom was already on speaker phone. "Should I put you on speaker next to mom?" my brother joked, and instead passed me (on his cell phone) to make the rounds. I am truly thankful that just a (chaotic) 5 minute phone call--heck, just my grandma's voice--reminds me of an overwhelming depth of unconditional love that is my family.
Anyway, for every Chinese New Year, my dad would make red bean nian (double meaning! year & sticky) gao (cake). It's essential.
He always made 3 pans of it at once (in fact, those 3 pans seem to be reserved for them)--one for our big family party, one that stayed home for my family (because my brother inhales this stuff), and one just for my cousin who loves it even more.
Already teary-eyed, I called my extended fam next. They were all gathered for dinner at my aunt's house, where my mom was already on speaker phone. "Should I put you on speaker next to mom?" my brother joked, and instead passed me (on his cell phone) to make the rounds. I am truly thankful that just a (chaotic) 5 minute phone call--heck, just my grandma's voice--reminds me of an overwhelming depth of unconditional love that is my family.
Anyway, for every Chinese New Year, my dad would make red bean nian (double meaning! year & sticky) gao (cake). It's essential.
He always made 3 pans of it at once (in fact, those 3 pans seem to be reserved for them)--one for our big family party, one that stayed home for my family (because my brother inhales this stuff), and one just for my cousin who loves it even more.
It was fun making this at a Chinese New Year dinner that consisted of eating hot pot and watching Mulan! :)
adapted from tinyurbankitchen
Ingredients:
Try it both cold and warm (microwave 20 seconds to reheat), because it changes in chewiness!!
Also! There are many variations of "mochi cake" you can try: pumpkin, blueberry, strawberry, mocha, etc. Let me know if you'd like the recipes.
- 1 lb sweet/glutinous rice flour (white/green bag at Asian grocery stores is usually cheaper than Mochiko)
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups milk (when desperate, half soymilk and half water comes out ok too!)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup (I used 3/4 can and reduced amount of sugar) red bean paste
- handfuls of sesame seeds
- Mix together all the ingredients except the red bean paste.
- Stir in the red bean paste.
- Scatter sesame seeds on top.
- Bake at 350 degrees in a 9 x 13 pan for 45-50 min.
Also! There are many variations of "mochi cake" you can try: pumpkin, blueberry, strawberry, mocha, etc. Let me know if you'd like the recipes.
