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Monday, February 8, 2010

Nian Gao 传统年糕 (Chinese steamed New Year sticky cake)

Since my 2 sisters and sister-in-law has no interest in baking and cooking, thus I have a big responsibility to learn from my mum for all her traditional Chinese cooking especially Hokkian dishes. Nian Gao (Chinese steamed New Year sticky cake) is one of the cake that I learnt from my mum for this Chinese New Year and this is a cake that must have during CNY. I would like to keep this recipe in my blog here, so you can try out if you have interested on it(so far, I have not seen any blogger that I knew doing this cake, tedious to make right?)



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Why Chinese eat Nian Gao during CNY?
My mum told me that Nian Gao is traditionally fed to the Chinese Kitchen God, so that he will give a favorable report on the family's behavior throughout the previous year when he returns to heaven.



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A lot of recipes out there required very minimum steaming time(less than an hour), adding brown sugar to make the nice colour. But my mum'recipe will test your patient, because it requires 5 hours steaming time, the process of caramelization makes the Nian Gao with nice brown colour and full of glutinuous rice fragrant. The best part is this Nian Gao can be kept in the fridge up to 6 months even no preservative is added..



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Nian Gao (Chinese steamed New Year sticky cake)-makes 3 cakes

Glutinous Rice flour 500g
Water 500ml
Sugar 600g
Cooking oil 2tbsp
Banana leaves - soften it by blanched in hot water

steaming bowls- I can't find the right bowl, thus I use empty can from pineapple cans.

1. Line banana leaves on the steaming bowl.
2. Place the glutinous rice flour in a large bowl, mix in sugar (500g), oil and water. Stir the mixture till sugar dissolved.
3. In another pot, cook the balance sugar (100g) till became golden syrup.
4. Pour golden syrup into flour mixture, and the syrup will form into curd, don’t worry, continue stir until syrup dissolved in the mixture (Be careful when you pour the syrup, it will spill !)
5. Strain the mixture and pour the mixture in steaming bowl.
6. Steam cake over high flame for 1 hour, and turn to low flame for 4 hours. Make sure the water does not dry up, refill hot water from time to time.

Thanks to Bakeling helping me to translate this recipe in Chinese.

传统年糕制法:

材料:
糯米粉 500 克(g)
水 500 毫升(ml)
糖 600 克( 分开 500克 , 100克)
食油 2 汤匙
香蕉叶

方法:
1. 将香蕉叶垫在蒸的容器里。
2. 在糯米粉放进一个大碗内 ,然后加500 克的糖,食油和水搅拌均匀,直到所有糖溶解。
3. 把另外100克的糖放在另一个锅煮成金黄色的糖浆(syrup)。
4. 再将糖浆倒入第2项的面糊内搅动,当倒进糖浆时,糖浆将会凝固在面糊里成块状,我们必须一直将搅动,直到所有的糖浆和面糊混合成一体为止。
5. 把第4项的面糊用筛子过滤,然后倒进蒸碗内,再放进大锅里蒸熟。
6. 用大火蒸煮1个小时后,再改用小火,继续蒸4个小时。期间要不停加入热水。



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With this lovely bite of Nian Gao, I wish you all "年年高升" (symbolism of raising oneself higher in each coming year ) !!

83 comments:

  1. Sonia!!! This is the best nian gao I have seen in a long, long time. It's like those my grandma used to make. The commercial ones look like plastic. Wow, I am totally impressed. Thank goodness you have an interest in the kitchen. Otherwise your mum's recipes will go to waste.

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  2. Ju, Thanks for your lovely words, since I have interest in kitchen, should I take this big responsibility.

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  3. Wow, you are great Sonia! Such traditional recipe and so nicely done. :) Wonder if I will ever be able to do 年糕! Anyway, thanks for sharing such a great recipe with everyone. 新年快乐!

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  4. WOW Sonia! This is awesome. 佩服佩服!I do have recipes of nian gao but never want to do it.

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  5. Wow, it's super nice, i like to eat this, normally will buy from outside... keke...

    I'm same same with your 2 sisters and sister-in-law, kakaka...

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  6. Oh Dear! Like what Anncoo said 佩服佩服!
    I only know how to eat but no patient for that. Even my son loves it so much but not motivated by him to do it. Same with kuih dodoh :)

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  8. I had tasted a few great version of nian go specially made by restaurants, just cant get enough of it, I like them not too sweet, just right!

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  9. Good home made nian gao...thks for sharing this CNY traditional recipe!

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  10. Sonia, this is new to me and I can not believe how wonderful you did! Your mom has to be proud of you for all your efforts in following traditions. Beautiful photos too.

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  11. This is gooooood, good in aroma and taste too.

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  12. Good Job, Sonia. I miss all these old recipes passed down from generation to generation. If no one keep an record, our children will lost all these treasures.

    And I was told that if you use Brown sugar, it would shorten the steaming time.

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  13. great looking nian gao!! like the one sell in the market! I have the almost same recipe and try last year,turn out OK..my problem is I don't have skill to lay banana leave over tin..told my mom my recipe and using my recipe her turn out great too..she told me to blanch my banana leave first before lay over the tin

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  14. 这年糕....我等你送我吃!因为我懒惰做!哈哈!
    还记得5年前,我和几位朋友一起做年糕,花了很多时间,不过大家聚在一起做年糕又可以聊天很开心!谢谢你让我记起这段美好的回忆!

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  15. I love niangao fried with egg!

    Won't try to make it, requires too much patience (which I don't have).

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  16. 其实我从小就一直好奇,年糕究竟是怎样制成的?直到今天才真相大白。

    作为一个现代女性,你还会制做传统的年糕,真是难能可贵。

    加油 !

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  17. wow... thats amazing! You made this yourself!!! Is that red piece of cloth your table cloth??? Looks very cool!!! Very CNY feel... i like it!!! I must try this one day and see if Alex likes it... I hope he does... hehe

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  18. Honey Bee Sweets, you are welcome, do try out one day.

    Anncoo, hope one day you will try this.

    somewhere in SG, a lot of peoples like you, hehehe.

    Jane, if no motivation from my kids, I will not do this too, since you kids love this, you should try, not that difficult, you just need to sacrify some of your Shopping time, hahaha..

    BBO, you also like this ya.

    Pete, you are welcome.

    Shandy, Thanks for your lovely words

    Sze Sze, Thanks dear.

    Chelsy, ya, that is fast way,but it would not taste as nice as long steaming Nian Gao, trust me, no fast way for traditional cakes.

    My Asian kitchen, I heat up banana leaf over low heat over gas stove, to shorten the banana leaf, then easy to line the tin.

    Felvinc, so sorry, only left one, kids sapu cepat cepat, can't give one to you. And feel lazy to start another 5 hours to make this again.

    Beau Lotus, ya, i like fry with egg too.

    Bakeling, Thanks for your encouragement !!

    Mia, sure you want to try this, 5hours ler..

    Rachana, Thanks.

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  19. That dollop on the spoon - wish I could get at it! So tempting,lah!! GONG XI FA CAI! to you and your family. Enjoy your Nian Gao!

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  20. WOW that looks like our banana leaf ada,nice healthy cake and very unique

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  21. We cook something similar too, but with normal rice flour...I could imagine the taste of this cake infused with the flavor from banana leaf...yummm...all the efforts worth it :-)

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  22. 年糕都自己做?
    sonia你好geng!!
    听说年糕不容易控制的对吗?
    我.....10年后吧!哈哈

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  23. My aunt steams them longer than 5 hours, I heard it's almost 8 hours. Maybe that's the reason hers can keep for 6 months without referigeration. How I knew.. cos last time when I was really small, there was no fridge at home. we kept and kept the nian gaos..

    Yeah, I do agree that this is a dying recipe. Many resort to buying due to the long cooking hours and the amount of fuel (wood or gas) it consumes, which makes it uneconomical to make in small batches. My aunt makes almost 100 pcs at one go for all 10 siblings and their families.

    I salute u for making just 3. Make more ma, and sell to me.

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  24. wow that looks good Sonia!!! i never knew what these were made of.now Iknow thanks to you!!! good job...keep the traditions going ya!

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  25. Great Nian Gao you have here Sonia. I love having them roll in fresh grated coconut.

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  26. Delicious! I want this! The question is do I want it bad enough to make it myself? :P Or just resorted to the baked version. Hmmm....

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  27. Looks so good! I love this deep fried =)

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  28. I just bought one from the supermakret so I can take it back with me but I bet your homemade ones taste so much better. I like having this when it is warm with some grated coconut.

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  29. 你的年糕看来真很美又滑面~~吃年糕~~步步高升!

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  30. Sonia, I was planning to make nian gao this Thur/Fri but you beat me to it. I love nian gao esp when it's sandwiched with sweet potato and yam, dipped into batter and pan fry, yummy!

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  31. My grandmother back in Hawaii used to make them for Chinese New Year. They were a highlight in our house. Most store-bought ones are real crap. I wish I knew her recipe. Thanks for sharing!

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  32. WOW!! You made your own homemade Nian Gao! WOW!! I like the homemade style, it looks very traditional. This must be better than the store one. Very very good job!

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  33. Wishing you and your family 一天比一天好,健康快乐没烦恼

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  34. 以前妈妈一做好年糕,我最爱拿筷子乘热热的时候卷来吃。。。但太多工了,妈妈现在不做了 :P

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  35. 忘了祝你和家人新年快乐

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  36. Wow ... this you also can make! 佩服

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  37. Keats the sunshine girls, Thanks, Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too.

    Vrinda and Gulmohar next time share with us your banana leaf ada.Thanks.

    Artchala, why have to wait for 10years, not that difficult to do.

    Wendy, since we have fridge, so we can cut short the steaming time. Due to my wok only accomodate 3 cakes, no choice lo. Wait for my mum to do some for me.

    Zurin, Thanks.

    CK Lam, ya, this year I want to try with fresh grated coconut.

    LCOM, never heard of baked version, show us please.

    pigpigcorner, ya, deep fry with egg is yummy.

    ICook4fun, ya, good with fresh grated coconut.

    Sulianmummy, Thanks.

    Blessed homemaker, I like this way too.

    Nate, you are welcome.

    Kitchen corner, feel free to try out yourself.

    A full-timed housefly, Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too.

    mimid3vils, my kids was doing this immediately when the Nian gao done, they use fork to eat this. Wishing you Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too.

    YummyKoh, Thanks.

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  38. Its completely a new recipe to me....Sounds great...

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  39. Hi Sonia,

    Your nian gao remind me of my old neighbour. I am sure this will taste fantastic. Thanks for sharing. Wish that next year I will have time to try out this.

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  40. What a FANTASTIC post!! i was just thinking to myself that i have not seen any blogger try making this before. my mum used to make hers which also requires at least 4-5 hrs of steaming. unfortunately, none of us have learned it from her. we helped her made it last time but forgotten how to now. wonderful, wonderful effort and huge success, Sonia! Gong Xi Fa Cai to you!

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  41. Wow! You even made your own rice cake! Hmm ... I'd make it if only I love it more ... I'm not a big fan of 年糕! I'd only eat it when it's sliced up and deep-fried with taro slices and coated in batter. So unhealthy, huh!?

    Great photos! I can see it's getting way, way better ... There's bokeh in some of your photos. ;)

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  42. Tina, Thanks for stopping by.

    Happyflour, hopefully you will try this soon.

    Petite Nyonya, Thanks for your lovely words, Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and your family too, see you soon.

    Pei Lin, Thanks for your compliments, I need to learn from you to get better bokeh, chat with you when we meet up ok.

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  43. Wow! This is an amazing bake! Good thing you got the recipe from your mom. I think less and less people knows how to bake this, keep the tradition going, Sonia!

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  44. you can make this tooooo???
    Sugoi!!!

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  45. Colin, Thanks dear, ya, I will try to keep the tradition going, my blog is an example.

    Ai Wei, Thanks dear.

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  46. Wow.. Very very nice.. I hope I can try it out next year too. Thanks for d posting... :) HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

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  47. Hi Sonia.
    You are fantastic! My Mom used to make this when I was small, it's tedious but nothing beats the traditional 5hrs method! I have the recipe but do not dream of attempting.
    Happy Tiger Year to you.

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  48. Sonia, you're great, as a young and pretty lady interested in cooking, I'm sure your mom will be delighted that someone in the family interested and pass on her recipes. I too did some cheating -- cook some caramel and added into the nian gao but I added less sugar as your is too sweet to me. I greased a mould with oil instead of lining the it with banana leaves -- lazy and not good at it.
    I collect all the nian gao from my sister-in-laws, slice and freeze them. They can last for 1 year ! They freeze well.

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  49. Hi Rebecca, do you have a blog? How to contact you?

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  50. A self-exile in Canada ;)February 10, 2011 at 4:11 AM

    Thank you so much for the recipe! It is by far the best homemade nian gao I have tried. My only question is how do I actually remove the banana leaves from the nian gao, leaving the whole thing intact? Mine ended up as a sticky mess with "shredded" banana leaves. Do I need to grease the leaves before I pour in the nian gao batter? Thanks again! =D

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  51. Sonia,

    Thank you for the wonderful, precious recipe! I made it for CNY this year and the Nian Gao was delicious! I just posted it on my blog and linked it back to yours. :-D

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  52. 以前外婆就是大量制造年糕来卖的,好怀念那一段日子哦!可是我们做的没有放食油。

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  53. Hi Sonia,

    May I know how to cook the golden syrup for the 100 gm sugar?

    Thanks.
    Shirlynn

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  54. Shirlynn, use a clean small pot, just cook 100g sugar till melt over low heat and look golden brown.

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  55. Hi Sonia,
    Thanks for sharing recipe, this is my childhood nina gao, really want to make but im too lazy to wait 5 hours to make it... Lol...
    But if just make one, can shorten the steaming time?
    Thanks
    Sam

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  56. I cant get banana leaf in New Zealand. Can you suggest an alternative? Thanks

    Dorothy

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  57. Samantha , you can just steam for 3 hrs.,but it might not keep it too long. Since this is time consuming , why not make more at the same time..

    Dorothy , I saw some people use plastic sheet..

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  58. Makes me miss home! this looks delish!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  59. Thanks for the recipe! I've tried it yesterday, left it overnight in the fridge and it's still too soft to be unmold. How long did you wait to unmold it?

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  60. Sonia's mother (aromatic nian gao) I followed exactly your mom's recipe except no oil. Finally suceeded in making a nian gao. Of course I like those with yam and keledek but too lazy. Thank you very much to Sonia and her mother.

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  61. Hihi. Wat type of sugar to use?; ) thanks.

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  62. Sonia, can use pressure cooker to steam?

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  63. Sonia, can use pressure cooker to steam?

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  64. SM, yes , my SIL tried with pressure cooker method, , she said steam for 1 hr only.

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  65. Thanks Sonia :) will go looking for banana leaves. This weekend may make

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  66. I m looking for recipe for nian gao as it's so expensive to buy a few pieces for CNY praying (about rm15 for a small one n rm20 for a big one) found yours. Tried to make a batch n so far looks ok. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

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  67. Thanks Sonia for the tips.

    Managed to make 4 batches over the weekend. 1st batch kantoi(posted up in my blog today) coz I too clever...went and line the banana leaves only one layer. Didn't occur to me that the leaves will shrink when cooking.

    Second batch still with one layer but overlap more. . Still leaks

    Finally an auntie told me have to put at least 4 layer. LOL....phew....finally no leakage

    Tried again. True what you said . Those steamed in pressure cooker 2hrs and those steamed 5 hrs have difference. the aroma not the same. More fragrant.

    Thanks again ya...maybe you can post up tutorial on how to line the mould . I see quite a few friends also say they made before and leaked. Youtube also tarak tutorial Only one ...nyonya one but using ceramic bowl

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  68. SM, Thank you so much for your feedback, but I have not been doing this nian gao for few years already, I just let my mom to do it. If I have ever do this again, I will to put something on how to line the banana leaves.

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  69. Hi Sonia
    Thanks very much for sharing your nian gao recipe, I have one question. When we dissolve the 100 g sugar to syrup and pour into the flour mixture the
    syrup will harden. How can we stir
    the mixture?
    Mrs Yeo C L

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  70. Sonia, I love your blog and all the recipes. I am trying the nian gao for the 2 nd time this year and still have problem mixing the golden syrup rice flour mixture. The syrup crystallized become sugar the moment I pour the syrup. Any advice.

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  71. Hi Sonia,

    Can I use a electric steamer to steam the nian gao. is the duration still the same as normal steaming?

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  72. anonymous, yes you can, duration is the same and if you can steam longer, it would be better.

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  73. Mrs Yeo and Cocoa, yes the syrup will be harden, what you need to do is just keep stirring until it melt, it will take a bit longer to do this step.

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  74. ur nian gao really tempting, i really want to try out. if i only want steam for 1 hr-2hr is it ok?

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  75. Pet, no, you have to steam at least 4 hrs.

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  76. Hi Sonia. I have tried your nian Gao recipe for the past two CNY and they taste great but I always face two problems -my nian Gao leaked cos I think I fail to line the banana leave correctly and my nian Gao get mouldy the second day because of the steam left on the surface of thw nian Gao.

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  77. Made the Nian Gao last night and came out perfect .Thanks Sonia for the great recipes. Silik Lam

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  78. Hi sonia just to let you know that i've change my blog name to alexstanleykelly and i have made pandan Nian Gao ..tq

    Regard molly

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  79. Hi Sonia
    Thank you very much for sharing. I will try and let you know the outcome.

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  80. Made this recently nian gao for Chinese New Year. It was great and easy to do. But unfortunately, after 2 weeks it became sourish. Can I know what kind of mistake I have done until it became sourish? TQ.

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  81. Anonymous you have to store in the fridge after 3 days as no preservative is added

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  82. Can I steam it in the slow cooker?

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