Making Nian Gao, a steamed rice cake dessert, is an important Chinese tradition to celebrate the Lunar New Year. However, this sweet, chewy dessert slowly hardens in 2-3 days. Making pan fried nian gao is a delicious solution to enjoying nian gao anytime over the two-week celebration.
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Jump to RecipeWhat is Nian Gao?
The words Nian Gao literally mean year cake and is a traditional Chinese dessert for the new year. Phonetically it sounds like the words “year” and “high/tall” and represents a prosperous year of personal and financial growth.
I have a recipe on my blog for making a top 9 allergen free nian gao that almost everyone can enjoy. However, be aware that other recipes for nian gao might contain allergens, so be sure to read the ingredient labels or ask whoever made it. Even though I’ve simplified the recipe to leave out allergens, it tastes great and is even Chinese mom approved.
Chinese people usually make their nian gao a day or two before lunar new year. The freshly steamed glutinous rice cake is too sticky to eat and instead is displayed in the kitchen as an offering to a kitchen god who visits and reports back to the Jade Emperor about the household. People hope that the sticky treat is too much of a mouthful and prevents the kitchen god from tattling on them.
It’s interesting to understand the traditions to understand why it’s necessary to make the nian gao before the lunar new year. I recently found out that people also need to wait until the second day of the new year to eat it, which presents a practical problem.
Nian Gao’s Changing Texture
Freshly made nian gao is too sticky to eat. It’s pretty much impossible to cut a neat piece as the texture is like taffy or other chewy sticky candy. I like eating nian gao the next day (day 2) the most, it’s easy to slice, soft and chewy. On day three, it’s still soft but is slightly hard. By the 4th day it becomes very hard and stale and sometimes it gets moldy.
After displaying it on the eve of the lunar new year and on the day of the new year, it’s an option to refrigerate the cake to slow down the mold or steam the cake for 20 minutes to soften and refresh the cake. It goes back to being too sticky to eat.
As a child, I was never impressed with the short window of time between too sticky and too hard/borderline moldy and still didn’t like the nian gao even after it’s re-steamed. But as a food allergy mom, I learned how to make it for my sons so they can connect with their cultural food heritage.
I had heard about pan-frying cut pieces of nian gao. I love the pan-fried version. The pan fried rice cakes soften so that they’re chewy but not sticky. They also carmelize a little bit on the outside with a slightly crispy crust.
Pan-Fried Nian Gao with Egg
Another variation of pan-fried nian gao is dip the cut pieces of nian gao in egg and then pan fry, like making French Toast but with nian gao. This is a delicious way to enjoy nian gao, simply dip sliced pieces in beaten egg, then pan-fry until golden brown and crispy on the outside while soft and chewy inside.
If you’re avoiding eggs, you can pan-fry the nian gao in a little olive oil instead. This brings out even more caramelization and crispiness for a slightly different but equally tasty variation.
Nian Gao Storage & Reheating Tips
As a reminder, nian gao can start to mold after three days at room temperature. To keep it fresh, store cooled pieces in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to use them:
- Microwave for 20–30 seconds to soften or
- Steam for 20–25 minutes if it’s been left out for a day or two or
- Pan-fry for a crispy texture, plain or dipped in egg, so delicious!
Try my Pan-Fried Nian Gao with Egg as a fun way to enjoy your leftover rice cakes! It’s probably my family’s favorite way to eat nian gao as we seldom have leftover pan-fried nian gao.
Pan-Fried Nian Gao
Ingredients
- 1/2 recipe nian gao
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoon olive oil, or other neutral oil
Instructions
- Preheat a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Cut the nian gao into 1.5 inch squares and then stand the pieces on their side and cut in half to make the pieces thinner.
- In a small bowl, beat an egg and then add the cut pieces of nian gao and stir to coat thoroughly.
- Add the oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add the pieces of egg dipped nian gao and arrange in a single layer. After 2-3 minutes, flip them over to fry on the other side.
- The pan fried nian gao is ready to eat when slightly browned on both sides and softened.
Notes
Favorite Lunar New Year Recipes
Some of my favorite lunar new year recipes include Nut Free Chinese New Year Vegetable Stew “Jai” Recipe, it’s a mostly vegetarian stew that is typically enjoyed for breakfast on new year’s day but is often served throughout the 2 week celebration.
Everyone loves potstickers and they are especially auspicious to serve and eat during the new year because their shape looks like Chinese ingots, which represents wealth and prosperity. Pan-Fried Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Potstickers) uses a handmade wrapper, but you can make them with store bought wrappers if that saves you time. My recipe for Chinese Potstickers Recipe: Pork & Napa Cabbage uses a store bought wrapper.
Recipes with shrimp are also considered lucky because the word for shrimp in Chinese is “ha” which sounds like laughter. If you are not allergic to shrimp, try my recipe for Easy & Low-Fat Chinese Salt and Pepper Garlic Shrimp Recipe or Happiness is a Shrimp Stir Fry with Spring Vegetables Recipe.
And did you know that iceberg lettuce is often part of Chinese New Year celebrations and symbolizes growing prosperity. My favorite way to eat lettuce is either a simple stir fry or in lettuce wraps.
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