Indonesia
It’s Easy to Make Koi Nian Gao
No special skills needed. Just mix all ingredients, steam up and… done!
Basket cake aka nian gao is a mandatory meal for Imlek. The most traditional one shapes like mini basket box. But now we have a more attractive and likeable nian gao look, koi fish. Is it hard to make?
“Absolutely not. Even a kid can do it because all it takes is just mixing up the ingredients,” Suparno, Dim Sum Chef of Lung Yuan Chinese Restaurant, Sheraton Surabaya Hotel and Tower, convinced. Normally, koi nian gao is red and white. But if you like, we actually can use any color including the colors of rainbow.
How do we eat nian gao? You don’t just chew and swallow this meal. There are two ways to enjoy it. You can either chop it to pieces, mix with shaken egg and fry. Or chop up and mix with grated coconut.
Now, for Superkids who are convenient in the kitchen, Suparno shared a special recipe of making nian gao that is mostly known as sticky fish.
Ingredients
- Glutinous rice flour 2 pack
- Rice flour 1 pack
- Tang mien flour 300 grams
- Sugar 2.5 kilograms
- Coconut milk 100 grams
- Mineral water 2 liters
- Vegetable oil 50 grams
- Two grains of black bean (for the eye fish garnish)
How to make
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl, stir well.
- Put into koi fish shape molding.
- Steam up for two hours.
- Remove nian gao off the molding. Leave to cool, put two boiled black beans for the eyes.
HAFIDA INDRAWATI
PHOTO: HAFIDA INDRAWATI
