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
Scale
- 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.
Find it online: https://theplantbasedwok.com/chinese-sticky-rice-cake-nian-gao/