Steam Nian Gao 蒸年糕 (1) (Thermomix)

I think I only brought Nian Gao once and it was long ago.  So I was shocked to find out how ridiculously priced Steam Nian Gao 蒸年糕 (Thermomix) was in HK.  I was told that even in Singapore, for a good quality nian gao it is expensive.  To be honest, the ingredient costs for this cake is very low.  

I have done a Baked Nian Gao many years ago but I have never steam one before.  This year, I also saw many people attempt to steam theirs.  So they really motivated me to do it.  Well, at least for once.

Traditionally, this need to be steam for 15 hour or more.  These days, there are some recipes that need to steam for 4 long hours.  Even that, I am too lazy to slave over the stove so I opted for a 1 hour version instead.

Findings: Based on 1 hr as indicated, this did not work well for me.  I extended half an hour more to achieve a finished nian gao.

I should have wrapped the varoma cover with a cloth as the water did drip onto the nian gao, thus I did not achieve a smooth top.

Also instead of a 6" round pan, I could have gone a size smaller to achieve a taller cake.  Next round will try 5".

What you need:

175g brown sugar

30g castor sugar

250g water

250g glutinous rice flour

15g olive oil

1500g water (for steaming)

Banana leaves

6” mould

Oil for greasing

Method:

Blanched banana leaves to soften.  Clean with a clean cloth.

Cut into 4" strips and wrap round a 5" round pan, overlapping each strip, leaving enough to overhang.  Secured with a rubber band.  Grease with oil and set aside.

In a pot, combine brown sugar, castor sugar and water.  Bring to a boil and lower the heat to melt the sugar completely.

Place brown sugar, castor sugar and water in TM bowl.  Mix on 6mins/100⁰C /Sp 2.  Set aside until temp drop to 60⁰C.

Stir in glutinous rice flour and olive oil until evenly mixed and no lumps.

Pour in glutinous rice flour and olive oil.  Mix 2mins/Sp 4 – 6.

Transfer batter to lined mould and steam on high heat for 60 mins.  (to replace water, make sure it is boiling water)

Transfer batter to lined mould and place on Varoma to steam.  60mins/Varoma/Sp3.5.

Cover the cover with a cloth before steaming.

Remove and set aside to cool completely.

Enjoy!