Coconut rice cake by joyosity.

Dish of the Week: Rice cakes

Yesterday marked the first day of the Lunar New Year, known to most people as Chinese New Year. In China, it’s a time to wipe out the old with rituals such as extensive house cleaning and usher in the new with new clothes and the consumption of lucky foods.

One of my favorites is a sweet “nian gao” or rice cake. Due to the multi-tonality of Chinese, similar sounding words take on multiple meanings. The literal translation of “nian gao” means “sticky cake” — but a simple change in tone results in a translation of “year high.” These lucky words make rice cakes an appropriate dish for the new year.

Many people have seen these rice cakes, made of glutinous rice flour, in savory dishes, such as the Korean dduk bokki with long cylinders of rice cakes in a spicy sauce. But the sweet rice cake is seen less frequently. Composed of glutinous rice flour, eggs, sugar and milk, it forms a large cake that is sometimes steamed forming a clear glossy surface that can be eaten as is or sliced and pan fried for a crispy crust. In another version, the batter is baked forming a browned outer crust that is seen with traditional cakes and brownies. Both versions features a soft, chewy center similar to mochi. Some families will fill their baked version with black sesame seed or red bean paste for a richer more filling sweet.

For those who want to make their own, my favorite version utilizes coconut milk and/or cream of coconut to flavor the dough. You can purchase glutinous rice flour at a number of local Asian markets.