To Cook
Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll out the puff pastry until thin.
Lay and space out the strips of Nian Gao on the pastry sheet before cutting it up into rectangles.
Tip: Wet your fingers slightly if the Nian Gao becomes a bit too sticky and difficult to handle.
Place nuts on top of the strip of Nian Gao.
Fold the sides and enclose filling into a little roll.
Brush egg wash or melted butter on surface and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Bake in oven for 15 mins or until golden brown.
Dessert
Korean Sweet Rice Cakes (Gyeongdan)
To Prepare the Red Bean Paste
Strain the soaked azuki beans and rinse under water.
Add them into a pot with 6 cups water and bring to the boil over high heat, then cook for 10 mins. Reduce to medium-low and simmer for 50 mins.
Taste to check if the beans are fully cooked through. Remove any excess water, then use a wooden spoon or potato masher to mash the beans to the desired texture.
Add salt, brown sugar and ground cinnamon, and mix through thoroughly, adjusting to taste.
Cover and set aside.
To Prepare the Black Sesame Powder
Toast the black sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Once the seeds begin to pop and smell fragrant, lower the heat and continue to cook for 5-10 mins or until crispy. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.
Once cooled, grind using a coffee grinder or in a mortar and pestle.
Add the ground sesame seeds into a bowl, and combine with the sugar and salt. Set aside.
To Prepare Roasted Soybean Powder
Combine the roasted soybean powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
To Prepare Mugwort Powder
Combine the mugwort powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
To Make the Dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the sweet rice flour, caster sugar and salt.
Slowly pour in the boiling water while incorporating with a wooden spoon.
Once water has all been added, mix the dough by hand. Add some more plain flour if the dough feels too wet.
Cover the dough with a damp tea towel and set aside.
To Make the Gyeongdan
Bring a pot of water to the boil. Fill a large bowl with cold water.
Sprinkle some plain flour on a cleaning working surface.
Divide the dough into 3, then roll into cylinders. Cut each cylinder into 20 pieces. Cover with a damp tea towel with you work.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball, then use your thumbs to make a hole in the middle of the ball. Place a ball of bean paste in the middle. Close it tightly and place it on a plate, covering with a damp tea towel.
Carefully lower the rice balls into the boiling water. Cook until they float, about 3-5 mins.
Use a slotted spoon or a spider to remove them from the boiling water and place into the cold water.
Drain, then roll the cooked rice balls in the black sesame, mugwort and roasted soy bean powder.
Deep Fried Nian Gao with Sweet Potato and Yam
To Prep
Mix flour, oil and water until mixture is smooth. Set aside for 30 mins.
To Cook
Sandwich a slice of Nian Gao in sweet potato and yam. Then, coat with batter.
Deep fry in a wok over medium to low flame till golden brown and crispy.
Serve warm.
Chinese Lunar New Year Cake (Deep Fried Nian Gao with Egg)
To Cook
Slice the Nian Gao into thin square pieces.
In a bowl, whisk eggs, flour, cornflour (or baking soda), water and salt until the batter reaches a smooth consistency.
Heat a pan with oil. Dip Nian Gao slices in egg batter and pan-fry in batches (add more oil if needed), until lightly browned on both sides. Serve warm.
Dragon Cookies (Loong Peng)
To Prep
Preheat oven to 160°C. The oven should be ready when you’re done with your first tray of cookies.
In a mixing bowl, add margarine, icing sugar, egg yolks, egg white, vanilla essence, and beat until creamy.
Then, gently fold in cornflour, milk powder and plain flour until just combined.
Fill batter into piping mould and press out ‘S’ patterns on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Using a toothpick/skewer, dip the tip into some red food colouring and dab two “eyes” onto the dragons.
To Cook
Bake at 160°C for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the cookies to make sure they don’t brown and are slightly soft when removed from the oven. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.
Store cookies in an airtight container. They should last up to 2-3 weeks.
Tip:
If you take a longer time to pipe the “dragons”, cover the batter with a damp cloth to keep it from drying up and hardening. If the batter hardens, add a little water.
Chinese Lunar New Year Cake (Nian Gao)
To Cook
Get ready steamer, put water and bring to boil under high heat.
For the nian gao base, cut up the banana leaves into sections of 15-20 cm. If using fresh leaves, boil a pot of water and blanch the leaves first. This will make the leaves less brittle and easier to mould. Pat leaves dry with cloth or kitchen towel.
Using a recycled tin can, wrap one banana leaf at a time around the can and fold the access leaf on top, into the can. Use a smaller can to press excess leaf firmly into the bottom of the can to form part of the base. Repeat steps with another 1-2 banana leaves. Use a rubber band to secure the banana leaves around the can. Then, cut a round piece of banana leaf, slightly bigger than the diameter of the can, and press it to the bottom of the can to form the base. You’ll need to prepare 5-7 of these moulds for this recipe, depending on the size of the cans you use.
In a pot over medium heat, add sugar and water to cook until it turns golden brown and forms a thick syrup. Keep stirring to avoid burning. Then, pour the syrup in a big mixing bowl, add glutinous rice flour, and stir until as well combined.
Strain the mixture and portion them into the banana leaf moulds. Cover each mould with aluminium foil and steam in the steamer for 1-2 hrs or until the nian gao is set.
Nian gao is sticky and soft when hot. It will gradually harden as it cools. It is rarely enjoyed on its own but it’s cut into slices (when cold and set) and made into other delectable snacks; deep-fried with egg, steamed with coconut, deep-fried with potato and yam or baked in puff pastry.
Pandan Coconut Buttons with Palm Sugar Syrup (Kuih Puteri Mandi)
To Cook
Combine glutinous rice flour and pandan water. Knead to form a dough.
Make a marble sized ball and press slightly at the cente.
Put dough into boiling water and cook for 4 mins until the dough floats.
Then, remove from the pot and put into the cold water.
In another pot, boil water, sugar, palm sugar, pandan leaves and salt until it all melts and blend well. Add grated coconut and dough. Let simmer for 3 mins.
Kuih Abok-Abok
To Cook
Wash sago and soak it for 5 mins. Drain the water and set aside.
In a bowl, mix the shredded coconut with sago and salt.
To soften banana leaves, dip the leaves in a pot of boiling water. Get banana leaves and roll them up into a cone.
Put 1 tbsp of mixed sago ingredients into the banana leaves cone. Then add ½ tsp palm sugar. Finally, top it with another 1 tbsp of mixed sago ingredients.
Seal the opening of the cone with a toothpick.
In a big wok or steamer, steam the kuih for about 15 mins.
Sweetened Black Beans (Kuromame)
To Cook
Rinse kuromame, then drain and set aside.
In a large pot, add water, soy sauce, salt and sugar and bring to boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat and add kuromame to the pot. Make sure the beans well immersed in the liquid and that they are added to hot liquid so that the beans will not wrinkle while cooking later on.
Cover the pot and leave to soak overnight.
Next day, bring the pot to boil, then reduce to low heat. White bubbles will appear on the surface. Skim the scum as the beans start cooking. This will help to remove any bitterness.
Add a round piece of parchment paper to the pot to ensure the beans are submerged. Continue to simmer the beans on low heat for 5-6 hours, or until beans are tender. If liquid level is low, add some water.
Strain the beans and remove from heat. Continue to boil the syrup until it thickens to a glossy texture and black colour. Pour syrup over beans and refrigerate overnight before serving.
Sweetened Chestnuts and Sweet Potato (Kuri Kinton)
To Prep
Peel the sweet potatoes, chop into small chunks and soak it in a bowl of water for 2-3 hrs.
To Cook
Boil it in a pot of water until it becomes soft.
While the sweet potato is still soft, strain it through a sifter to make it into a puree.
Mix the sugar, syrup and mirin in a saucepan and cook over low heat until it starts to simmer.
Turn the heat off, add pureed sweet potato and mix them well together.
After mixing it well, cook over low heat for 15 mins. Keep stirring to avoid mixture from sticking to the bottom.
Turn off the heat, add the chestnuts and cover them with the pureed sweet potato mixture. Serve cool.
Glutinous Rice Balls in Ginger Soup (Tang Yuan)
To Make the Glutinous Ball
In a large mixing bowl, add flour and sugar. Gradually add water (you don’t have to use all of it) and knead the dough until soft and smooth. It should be bouncy and easily kneadable, yet not too wet (sticky to the fingers), nor too dry (crumbling).
Divide the dough depending on the number of different colours you intend to make.
Add food colouring, one drop at a time, to each portion and knead until the colour is well distributed. Shape the dough to even-sized balls.
Bring a pot of water (enough water to submerge the glutinous ball completely) to boil. Add the tang yuan into the boiling water and cook until they float to the surface. Transfer them immediately to a bowl of room temperature water until cooled or ready to serve.
To Cook the Ginger Sweet Soup
To cook the ginger sweet soup, add all the ingredients – ginger, water, palm sugar and pandan to a pot.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer until the sugar is fully melted. Simmer for another 30 mins.
To serve, add tang yuan to a serving bowl and ladle the sweet soup over.
Thai Mango Coconut Smoothie
To Prep
Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend on high speed until all blended through.
Pour in a glass and enjoy!