The other night, just as I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly thought of and was craving for Fried Nian Gao. Maybe it's because Chinese New Year is coming...
Nian Gao is a CNY cake made from glutinous rice which is traditionally popular during Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time, because "nian gao" is a homonym for "higher year." The Chinese word 粘 (nián), meaning "sticky", is identical in sound to 年, meaning "year", and the word 糕 (gāo), meaning "cake" is identical in sound to 高, meaning "high". As such, eating nian gao has the symbolism of raising oneself higher in each coming year (年年高升 nian nian gao sheng).
I think nowadays people seldom eat Nian Gao as-is, because it is sweet and gooey and sticks to the teeth. Most buy it for prayer offerings or as a symbolic item, since Nian Gao is considered good luck and symbolises increasing prosperity every year.
I remember when I was young, mom would cut the Nian Gao into rectangular pieces and dipped them into beaten eggs and pan fried them coated with the eggs. It tasted sweet and rich, with the gooey sticky glutinous cake on the inside oozing out of the slightly crispy coat of the egg batter on the outside. Mmmmm..... and that's the taste I was so craving for the other night. Am going to make sure I get some fried nian gao during CNY.
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