Nián Gāo [V] [GF]

Happy Chinese New Year, everybody!  It is now officially the year of the rabbit, so if you're looking for a method of ensuring good luck for the coming year that doesn't involve chopping off the token animal's foot, I have the solution for you: nián gāo.  Consuming these rice-flour cakes on Chinese New Year is said to ensure good fortune for the subsequent twelve months, much like its occidental equivalent, Hoppin' John (a dish with a name particularly appropriate for the year of the rabbit), it makes for a tasty way of seeing in the new year regardless of its efficacy as a good-luck charm.

A variety of recipes for these cakes can be found online.  The version presented here is a fairly traditional one, save that the amount of sugar has been reduced (which partly accounts for the relative pallor of the confections appearing in the photo above, relative to your typical nián gāo).  Dried red dates are the traditional topping, but I happened to have dehydrated some halved longans earlier in the week, and they certainly did the trick.  Also, as far as steaming time is concerned: as you can see from the photograph, my steaming device is a somewhat inefficient piece of Rube Goldberg apparatus that allows plenty of steam to escape.  Therefore, if you have a real steamer, the steaming time given in the recipe below is probably a drastic overestimate.  Just keep an eye on the nián gāo as they steam.

Good luck, bon appetit, and happy year of the rabbit!

• 2¼ cups mochi rice flour
• ¾ cups brown sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2¼ cups mochi rice flour
• ¼ cup vegetable oil;
• 1 cup water
• 12-15 dried longans, dried red dates, or other dried fruit

Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring the water to a low boil.  Continue to boil the water, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.  Once it has, remove from heat and set aside 15-20 minutes to cool.  Combine the rice flour and salt in a mixing bowl, and once the "simple syrup" has cooled to around room temperature, pour it into the flour-salt mixture, add the oil, and knead the ingredients together thoroughly.  Flatten the dough balls slightly with your hand, and press a piece of dried fruit into the top of each one.  On top of   Form the resulting dough into 12-15 small balls of equal size and place these on a well-oiled steaming rack and steam for 3-4 hours, or until the dough has been sufficiently steamed.  Set aside to cool for a while, then enjoy!