Steamed or pan-fried sticky rice cakes (nian gao/年糕) are a festive sweet dish and an important part of the traditional Lunar New Year meal in Chinese cuisine. The literal name for this dessert, nian gao, means “sticky cake” (粘糕), but it’s also a homophone for nian gao (年高), which means “growing taller” every year. Because the dessert symbolizes prosperity and growth, making and sharing it with loved ones has become a holiday tradition.
There are several variations of sticky rice cakes in China; in the North, the cakes are sweet and steamed or fried, including jujube dates, red bean paste, and other sweet layers or fillings. In the Jiangnan region, rice cakes are enjoyed as a savory dish, stir-fried with fermented mustard greens, and other variations in the South includes steamed brown sugar sticky rice cakes, pan-fried cakes made with coconut milk in the batter, and taro and chestnut studded cakes.
I developed this baked version based on a version my mom would make— it minimizes the active cooking time that pan-frying or steaming would require, as you can prep the batter, pop it into the oven, set a timer and let it bake away. Since the oven is rarely used in preparing Chinese dishes, baking the sticky rice cake frees up the stove-top for stir-frying, boiling, steaming, etc. in preparing other dishes for the holiday meal.
These cakes are quite sticky and gooey immediately after baking, but if you let them cool they’ll firm up enough to be cut into bars. They’re soft and chewy, and my family loves dipping them in coconut sugar and roasted soybean powder. I sprinkled black sesame on this batch but you can also add chopped nuts, chopped dates, or dollops of sweet red bean paste (included an option for that in the recipe below!).
More Glutinous Rice Desserts:
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Print📖 Recipe
Chinese Sticky Rice Cake / Nian Gao (Vegan)
An easy vegan baked version of the traditional Chinese dessert. Soft, chewy and irresistibly delicious dipped in coconut sugar and roasted soybean powder.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
- 1 lb bag glutinous rice flour
- 1½ cups full-fat coconut milk
- 1½ cups unsweetened soymilk or other non-dairy milk
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup olive oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 1 cup sweet red bean paste, optional
- sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F/165C. In a large mixing bowl, add the two kinds of milk, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and oil, and mix well to combine. Add rice flour, stirring until all incorporated.
- Line a 13×9 inch baking dish with parchment paper, and pour in the batter. If you’re adding red bean paste, reserve half the batter, dollop on a layer of red bean paste, and pour the remainder of the batter to cover. Sprinkle chopped nuts or sesame seeds on the surface, and bake for one hour, until the top is browned.
- The batter will rise quite a bit but it’ll deflate when you take it out of the oven. Allow to cool to room temperature (I’ve found that placing it in the fridge and eating it chilled is best) and cut into rectangles to serve.
Notes
- Glutinous rice flour is not the same as regular rice flour. It’s made from sweet rice, and you find it online or in any Asian grocery store. I used the Mochiko brand.
Jen says
WOW!!! This was sooo great that I posted it on my vegan food page – I hope you don’t mind! Here’s the link
https://www.facebook.com/107204334440398/posts/224531679374329/
I hope it generates something more for you! Thankyou so much for the recipe – I don’t think I’ll be going a Chinese New Year without it from now on!
★★★★★
Anonymous says
This turned out so well! I would totally recommend. I made homemade sweet red bean paste and dolloped it between the batter, and it was so good! I replaced the almond extract with vanilla because I don’t like almond extract
★★★★★
Michelle says
Can I sub full fat coconut milk for anything? I presume its there for fat purposes, so could I use olive oil? What if I tried to use fruit puree like pumpkin? Thank you, love your recipes!
Hannah says
Hi Michelle, for 1 1/2 cup coconut milk, I’d sub 1 cup non-dairy milk + ½ cup pumpkin puree or additional oil!