Brown Sugar Rice Cake
‘Nin Go’ - 年糕
My grandma’s (Pau Pau, 婆婆) recipe for Chinese sweet rice cake — a recipe she’s made for years for her family to celebrate Chinese New Year. Nin go is a 3-ingredient steamed sweet rice cake made with Chinese brown sugar, glutinous rice flour, and water, then topped with red jujube plums and toasted sesame seeds. It’s sliced, dipped in a beaten egg, and seared to golden brown perfection, resulting in a sweet yet salty dessert with a crisp exterior and chewy, mochi-like interior. When my Pau Pau stopped making this new year treat from old age, together, my mom and I learned the recipe from her to keep the tradition alive, and record it in my scrapbook of family recipes for generations to come.
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Yield: ~6-8 servings (one 8” round cake pan)
Tools —
Large mixing bowl
Sturdy pair of chopsticks or wooden spoon
Rubber spatula
Ladle
8” round metal cake pan
Medium pot
Big pot with steaming rack/Steamer
Medium sauté pan
Ingredients —
*All ingredients can be found at your local Asian grocery store, ideally at a Chinese grocery store like 99 Ranch. Places like HMart or Mitsuwa may have some ingredients, but not all.
2 cup water
2 brown sugar slabs [can substitute with light/dark brown sugar]
Additional 1-1 1/2 cups cool water
1 x 16 oz. bag glutinous rice flour, Flying Horse brand
5 dried red plums (jujube), for garnish
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
1 egg, beaten
Instructions —
1. Prepare steamer or big pot with steaming rack and add water to pot. Turn on low heat until ready to steam cake.
2. Combine 2 cups of water and 2 brown sugar slabs in a medium pot. Cook on low to medium heat until sugar is melted. Try not to boil the water. Set aside to cool to slightly warm or room temperature.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add glutinous rice flour. Add cooled sugar water mixture gradually. Use chopsticks or wooden spoon to mix until well incorporated.
* It’s important to make sure the sugar water is cooled and it’s added gradually other it will turn out lumpy. It’s also important to stir as best as you can without incorporating extra air.
4. Add the additional cool water as needed. The consistency should be a thick paste and enough water should be added so that the dough falls back on itself.
5. Heavily oil the 8” round metal pan, including the sides of the pan. Pour mixture into pan using a rubber spatula.
6. Place pan in a steamer and turn up heat to medium high. Cook for ~ 1 hour, making sure to add additional water to the steamer as needed.
7. After 1 hour of cooking, check to see if the cake is firm and not sticky (test with chopstick), add toasted sesame seeds and dried plums to the top. Cover for another 5 minutes until plums are cooked.
8. When cooked, take the rice cake out of the steaming pots and let cool until room temperature. Ideally, the cake is eaten the next day when it’s hardened and easier to handle.
9. Use a butter knife to release the edges and remove the cake from the pan. Slice the rice cake into thin strips.
10. Beat one egg, dip rice cake strips, and sear on a hot oiled sauté pan until golden brown.
*Alternative cooking method: The rice cake can also be sliced, then air fried without egg.
11. Serve hot and enjoy!