The Chao Nian Gao (炒年糕) Experiment

I gotta say, that the first time I had Chao Nian Gao(stir fried rice cake), I wasn't too impressed. It was kinda sticky-gooey, and sank to the bottom of my belly and seemed to "camp out" for a good long period of time. It was interesting, because I'd never had rice cakes prepared in that manner. I did however have Korean Ddukbokki many times. Over the years, it has grown on me, and now I try to order Nian Gao whenever I see it on the menu. I usually see it on Shanghainese menus, though I recently had a version from a Yunnan Restaurant (post coming soon) that I thought was excellent. 

On a whim, during a recent visit to 99 Ranch Market, I picked up a package of dried Nian Gao disks, you can also find the rice cakes rolled into a rod like form, and cut your own, though you can substitute Dduk..... So I purchased my Nian Gao, and did nothing with it. Finally, the Missus, tired of waiting, told me to make the darn thing...tonight....

The problem being that the instructions say you need to soak these for at least 16-20 hours. So it was going to be a looooong wait for dinner to get on the table.

I decided to go ahead and soak these overnight.... which became two nights when we got occupied doing other things. On the third day I figured I'd better get round to making these. What follows is a basic outline of what I did, not a proper recipe. I used only what was on hand in the fridge and cupboard.

I had just finished off my Oxtail Soup, and had leftover greens.

 

They call these "Shen Lee" at 99 Ranch Market. They have a mild bitter-mustardy flavor.

We usually don't have pork on hand, but always have dried shrimp in the refrigerator. We will use shrimp as a pork substitute in many of our dishes like Dried Fried Green Beans 干煸四季豆. It handles heat well, and will crisp up, tasting like shrimp bacon. So I used a couple of tablespoons of  dried shrimp.

 

Instead of the standard lighter Shanghai version, I went with three types of soy sauce for flavoring, a dark, dark mushroom, and premium light soy sauces because, well, I just felt like it. 1 tsp each dark soy sauces and about 2 Tb light soy sauce. I also added a dash of white pepper. In retrospect, I should've also added some Sichuan Preserved Vegetable, but forgot I had some in cupboard.

And of course the Nian Gao:

Which had been soaking for 60 hours or so! I used half the package, a bit over 8 ounces dry. I made two batches of Chao Nian Gao over two days.

The cooking technique used is, of course Chǎo(炒), a method of stirfying. As mentioned above, I made two batches of Chao Nian Gao. On my first attempt, I cooked on the stovetop to allow for mistakes and adjustments. Here's how it turned out:

Good but a bit more chewy then I would have liked.

On my next try, I broke out my Big Kahuna (now why does that sound so wrong???) and let her rip at 55,000 BTUs. What came out was delicious.......with some decent "wok hay":

Man, this was good. It had turned out better than I thought it would. It was still pretty heavy stuff, it fills you up pretty quickly and you'll stay full for a while. I guess I'm adding this dish to my Big Kahuna Files. It is as a whole just a basic stir-fry, and quite easy to make.

In fact, I just bought another bag of Nian Gao. This one says to soak for only two hours....... 

Comments

[liver]

big kahuna...so awesoooome...

you will be prepared to serve up a feast for new year!

[the diligent diletante]

So the rice cakes itself is the same as korean ones? That is quite a long soak time for something that I always associate with quick n easy comfort food. Looks good though....

[Kirk]

Hi Liver - Yeah.... I better start practicing...

Hi DD - Yes, basically the same. The ones I bought were really solid, the bag I have now is more like the stuff you buy in Korean Markets.

[santos.]

no one needs to challenge you to any cook-off, when you challenge yourself :) i can just imagine the flavours in this, nom! great job. and thanks to missus for spurring you on :)

[sharon]

Have you ever thought of opening up a restaurant in San Diego?!!! Um, I'd like an order of these please.

[Kirk]

LOL Santos - I'm not even close to being in your league!

Hi Sharon - Geeez, you flatter me. I'd love to see you take a shot at these..... you're such a great cook!

[Gastronomer]

Mmmm, rice cakes! Great job in the kitchen, Kirk!

[Kirbie]

Wow, what a long soaking period. The ones I buy are vacuum packed and I don't remember needing to soak them at all.

[kat]

wow, I've never had rice cake as savory, sounds and looks good though!

[janfrederick]

Ooohh...sounds like an excuse to finally replace my propane tank.

[Kirk]

Thanks so much G!

Hi Kirbie - Those are the ones most folks use. This was totally dehydrated.

Hi Kat - It's quite good.... and filling.

Hi Jan - Better get some cooking in before the rains come!

[Carol]

OMG that dish looks awesome! I was just contemplating a couple of days ago to steam my own rice cakes, like mom used to do. Slice them up and then fry up until they're all warm and yummy! I'll have to look for a bag of these next time. One that doesn't require a lot of soaking time. :)

[bill]

Looks good but not a big fan due to the fact that it is so much of a filler.

[Faye]

Wonderful post! I love your step by step recipes (w/ pics too!). You should write a cookbook!

I can't believe the soaking period. And it looks really strange in its dry form - like plastic chips or something. What does it taste like? Like thick chinese noodles?

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - Pretty easy to make too.

Hi Bill - Actually, if you see Nian Gao on the menu, you should check it out.

Hi Faye - Have you ever had Dduk Bokki, the Korean rice cake dish? It's basically the same thing. It is a bit chewy and stretchy. The have a decent version at Chin's on Miramar Road. I'm glad that you enjoy my cooking posts.... I usually make pretty easy and basic things!

[Healthy food]

It sounds and looks good .....

[meemalee]

I bought a packet of Nian Gao a while ago and have been wondering what to do with it - thanks for the tip Kirk :)

[Kirk]

Hi meemalee - This was very easy.... i just used what was around the house.

[rowena]

Dried rice cakes! This was just the information that I needed, now I can buy it with confidence that I'll actually use it. Another thing...I just realized that you are the Kirk that I've seen commenting on Kat's blog!

[Kirk]

Hi Rowena - Greetings and welcome! Thanks for taking the time to comment. I've found other brands of Nian Gao that don't need to be soaked as long....or don't need to be soaked at all. If you make these please let me know how they turn out.