Chinese New Year Cake (Pressure Cooker + Video)

It’s still Chinese New Year celebration time until the 15th day of lunar calendar. We enjoy all the delicious snacks, radish cake (pressure cooker recipe), taro cake and Chinese New Year cake, especially when getting around with friends and family. You might find this CNY cake in Chinese dim sum restaurants all year long. This is a popular, traditional cake in Chinese cooking.

When it comes to making this CNY cake, it takes forever to get it cooked through in a wok or steamer. But with an electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot, I can cut short the cooking time a lot. This recipe exactly use up one packet of brown slab sugar (片糖, picture shown here). I made a batch ahead, then pan-fried it next morning, and brought it along to share with my friends after church. They commended with thumbs up, saying it’s not too sweet with the texture just right to their liking. It’s a kind of remarkable reward when you cooked with your heart and soul for your loved ones, isn’t it?

Chinese New Year Cake Pressure Cooker Recipe (Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 30 mins + plus pan-fry time
Yield: One 12 cm (diameter) x 5cm (depth) round container + one 20cm x 14cm x 6.5cm rectangular container

Ingredients:

• 450 ml water + plus 1½ cup for steaming
• 450 gm brown slab sugar
• 150 ml coconut milk
• 55 ml oil + plus more to grease the containers
• 360 gm glutinous rice flour
• 125 gm wheat starch
• 1 egg, whisked

Method:

1. Use a deep pot, cook 450 ml of water with the sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour in the coconut milk and oil. Combine well. Set aside to let it cool down.
2. Combine and sift the glutinous rice flour and wheat starch. Sift the flour mixture into the sugar mixture in 3 batches. Stir to combine very well. You’ll get a very smooth batter. Drain through a fine sieve to get rid of any lumps inside.
3. Grease the containers. Pour in the batter.
4. Pour in 1½ cups of water into the Instant Pot. Transfer the round container first, followed by the rectangular one. Cover with foil. Close the lid and turn to “sealing” position. Press “manual” button, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. After finishing cooking, let the machine run “natural release’ for 10 minutes. After the pressure valve drops, remove the containers and let them cool down completely. Chill in fridge for at least 3 hours until it turns firmer for easily slicing into pieces. When you’re ready to serve, coat each slice with whisked egg. With a non-stick pan, pan-fry both sides until golden brown over medium-low heat. Serve hot.

Notes：

• It’s best to use glass containers. You may use bakery tray or foil tin instead. I won’t recommend to use plastic take-away boxes though as they are not suitable for high-heat cooking.
• If you're interested in getting an Instant Pot, here's the info for you. I got it from Amazon (UK) as the model for sale in UK, with 220 volts, suitable for using in Australia.
• If you’re living in US or any countries with 110~120 volts electrical system, the model listed on Amazon (US) is the one to go for.

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Mixed Vegetable Curry (Easy Meal)

This Malaysian curry dish is one of my favourite meatless meals. If you’re looking for some easy or quick dinner ideas, this recipe is a good choice. This dish tastes a bit spicy and hot, good for warming up our body in cold weather, or increasing our appetite on hot days. The Malaysian curry paste I used was store-bought. It tastes really authentic. You don’t need to add any spices yourself. Best still, the curry paste is very versatile. You can add any vegetables you’ve got, or add any meat you like. This recipe is so easy to make on the go.

Mixed Vegetable Curry Recipe (Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (200 gm) Tean's gourmet vegetarian curry paste (田師傅素咖哩醬)
• 300 ml water
• 300 ml vegetable stock
• 250 gm red sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
• 180 gm cauliflower, cut into pieces
• 200 gm green beans
• 250 gm egg plants, roughly chopped
• 200 ml coconut milk

Method:

1. Mix 2 teaspoons of oil with the sweet potato. In a microwave oven, cook on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. If a sharp knife can easily poke in, it’s done.
2. Combine the curry paste, water and stock well. Pour into a large pot. Bring it to a boil.
3. In the meantime, blanch the cauliflower and green beans in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain up and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
4. When the curry sauce boils, add the egg plant, sweet potato and cauliflower. Cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the green beans.
5. Pour in the coconut and combine well. Bring it to boil. Serve hot.

Notes：

• Tean's gourmet vegetarian curry paste is available at Asian grocers. Or get it from Amazon.
• If you’re a meat lover, you may add chicken, fish or pork into it. I tried to make curry fish balls with this curry paste with satisfied results.
• I used store-bought vegetable stock. For convenience, you might like to replace it with water.

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Garlic Butter Tiger Prawns

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Are you still searching for ideas of planning Chinese New Year menu? Here comes a good one to put on your menu. It’s a no-brainer dish and quick to be done. Not only is this dish flavoursome, but also it’s full of nutrients.

These large tiger prawns I used were so big. From head to tail, it’s long as my palm. They were so fresh that I didn’t need any more seasonings except garlic and butter, with salt and pepper of course. Since I love more flavours developed in this dish, I pan-fried the prawn with shells on. Yet, you may shell the prawns before cooking for convenience if you have young kids at home.

Garlic Butter Tiger Prawns Recipe (Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

• 6 (390 gm) large tiger prawns
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 16 gm butter, about two-thumb size
• 2 cloves, garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp dry white wine
• 1 sprig parsley, chopped, for garnish
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Method:

1. With a pair of scissors, trim away the sharp point head and legs. The cut open the shells along the backs. Use a knife to cut a shallow slit into the meat. Devein and rinse. Pat dry with kitchen towels. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add half of the butter. Pan-fry the prawns, about 4 mins on one side. Flip over to the other side and cook about 2 minutes. Don’t over cook them, or else the meat turns tough. Add garlic. Pour in wine. Add the remaining butter. Cover and cook for 1 minutes, or until the prawns are just cooked though. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle parsley for garnish. Serve immediately.

Notes：

• By heating some oil with butter, it helps the butter not to burn too quickly.
• The taste of this dish will be enriched with frying the shells together. For convenience, you may shell the prawns before cooking.
• The amount of butter can be adjust to your preference. Either unsalted or regular butter will work.
• The prawns I used were very large with shells. So I cover the pan and cook for a little while to help the inside cook through. If you use smaller prawns, you may skip this step. If the prawn meat doesn’t sticky to the shell, it’s cooked through.
• I used Chardonnay, a kind of dry white wine. You may use any wine you like.

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Pineapple Buns (Bo Luo Bao)

Pineapple buns (aka Bo Luo Bao 菠蘿包) is a classic soft, sweet buns in Hong Kong where I grew up with eating countless pineapple buns as afternoon tea. The recipe I developed here, was adapted from the owner of a Hong Kong bakery shop, specialized in making and selling pineapple buns. There are two important ingredients in the original recipe, lard for making the topping crispy, and ammonia powder for making the crackling patterns on the crispy topping. As I don’t use lard in my home-cooking at all, I tweaked it and used butter only. Besides, how would I make Asian breads without tangzhong (湯種)? Absolutely not. Many of my readers have already known that I’m addicted to tangzhong breads because they are soft and fluffy, and can be kept for days. Since I tweaked the original recipe with butter and tangzhong, I have had three trials until I got it right and feel satisfied.

As for using ammonia powder, it’s quite tricky. If used not enough, you’d be disappointed for no crackling patterns appear on the topping. If more than enough, your buns would smell weird (yes, like wee). Hope that I didn’t scare you off. If you don’t want to risk, or can’t find any ammonia powder, you can skip the ingredient, and use a knife to score the top pastry before transferring your buns in oven for baking. You’d get regular patterns, instead of getting irregular crackling that classic Hong Kong pineapple buns would have. Taste remains the same anyway. Hope you all like my sharing here.

(Update: This recipe was originally created and guest posted for PigpigsCorner on 31 Jan. 2011. For some reason, she stopped blogging on the site, so I've put the full recipe back on my blog again for my readers.)

Pineapple Buns (Bo Luo Bao 菠蘿包) Recipe (Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 180 mins
Yield: Makes 12 buns, each about 62 grams

Ingredients:

• 350 gm bread flour
• 70 gm caster sugar
• 4 gm salt
• 56 gm whisked egg
• 10 gm milk powder
• 6 gm instant dry yeast
• 120 gm tangzhong (refer this post for making tangzhong)
• 125 ml milk
• 30 gm butter, softened at room temperature

Ingredients of topping (makes 12, each about 20grams):

• 125 gm cake flour
• 55 gm caster sugar
• 40 gm butter, softened at room temperature
• 7 gm milk power
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp evaporated milk
• 1 tsp condensed milk
• a bit less than 1/4 tsp edible ammonia powder, available at Asian stores
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

To make buns:

1. Combine all dry ingredients: flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Whisk and combine all wet ingredients: milk, egg and tangzhong, then add into the well of the dry ingredients. When all ingredients get together, knead in the softened butter. The dough is quite sticky and messy at this stage. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth, not sticky and elastic. Shape dough into a ball. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel or cling wrap. Let it proof till it's doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
2. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide into 12 equal portions. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the topping, refer to the directions below.
4. Knead each little dough portions into ball shapes. Let them complete the 2nd round of proofing, about 35 minutes, doubled in size.
5. Preheat oven to 210°C (410°F). When the dough portions are doubled in size, remove topping paste from fridge, cut into 12 equal portions and roll in balls. Cover by a film wrap and press each portion into a flat disc. Place on top of the small dough. Repeat this step with the rest. Brush the top with whisked egg yolk and bake in a preheated 210°C (410°F) for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180°C (356°F) and bake for another 15 minutes.

To make topping:

1. Cream softened butter with an electric mixer over medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and continue to beat until fluffy.
2. Add milk powder, egg yolk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, baking powder, combine well. Sift in flour and ammonia powder and incorporate well. The mixture is quite moist and sticky. Use a piece of film wrap to roll into a log. Chill for 30 to 40 minutes. When it becomes harder, it’s ready to use and shape it.

Notes：

• As for the amount of ammonia powder, don’t go over 1/4 teaspoon of it when using 125 grams of cake flour to make the topping. If you use less or more flour, please adjust the amount of ammonia powder accordingly.

Other tangzhong bread recipes:

• Japanese Style Bacon and Cheese Bread (with detailed steps of making tangzhong)
• Japanese Style Coconut Custard Buns
• Hong Kong Style Sausage Rolls
• Apple Custard Buns
• Japanese Green Tea Bread with Red Bean Fillings
• Nutella Cream Horns
• Hokkaido Milk Toast (Japanese style)
• Pai Bao (排包 Hong Kong Sweet Buns)
• Braided Raisin Walnut Bread (Tangzhong Method) 
• Hot Cross Buns (Tangzhong Method) 
• Tangzhong Wholemeal Loaf

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Chinese New Year Cake (Sticky Rice Cake 年糕)

2010 is the year of tiger (Chinese zodiac)

Chinese New Year is a time of enjoying many delicious foods and snacks. One of popular desserts eaten during this festive season is Chinese New Year’s cake (nian gao 年糕), that made with sticky, glutinous rice flour (mochi flour) with brown sugar because it’s symbolic of growing taller, achieving higher every year, that signifies a prosperous year awaiting ahead.

It’s often served warm as it is. However, in Hong Kong, people like to have the steamed sticky rice cake, sliced and then pan-fried with egg. If it's pan-fried without egg, the texture would be slightly crispy outside and still pasty inside. When some relatives or friends come to visit them (bai nian拜年), they’d serve the sticky cake warm, with some other snacks, like turnip cake and taro cake.

Update: If you have an electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot, you might like to take a look at this radish recipe with video tutorial.

Chinese New Year Cake / Sticky Rice Cake Recipe (Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 100 mins
Yield: Prepare a cake mould (removable base preferred), 5-inch round

Ingredients:

• 200 gm glutinous rice flour
• 70 gm wheat starch (澄麵)
• 250 gm brown sugar in bar (片糖)
• 1 cup water
• 80 ml coconut cream
• 30 gm oil + a dash to grease cake mould
• 1 egg, whisked

Method:

1. Use a saucepan to bring 1 cup of water to boil. Add brown sugar and cook until completely dissolved. Stir in coconut cream and oil. Drain syrup through a fine sieve to make the mixture smoother. Let cool.
2. Sift glutinous rice flour and wheat flour twice beforehand. Add flour bit by bit into syrup, stir constantly along the way, and combine well. If you'd like your batter really smooth, drain through a fine sieve once more.
3. Transfer batter to a greased cake mould. Place in a wok and steam over high heat, covered, for about 60 to 75 minutes. As the cake is very sticky, even if it’s cooked through, it still sticks to your needle/chopstick if you test it. But if you can’t taste any raw flour, it’s done. Make sure to steam the cake for enough time.
4. Let cool. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. When the cake is cold, it’s much easier to slice into thick pieces. Coat the sliced cake with whisked egg, fry on medium-low heat until both sides are brown. Serve hot.

Notes：

• The time of steaming cake depends on how big and thick your cake is.
• I followed the traditional way of decorating the cake and inserted a date in the middle, after steaming 15 minutes or so when the surface is slightly set.

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