Chinese New Year Cake – Neen Go
Pan Fried Chinese New Year Cake
Growing up, the Neen Go (Chinese New Year Cake) is pretty much one of the many star items on the dining room table. I was never attracted to the look and the taste of the cake. For such a simple and dull looking cake, as a child, I simply could not fathom why it was such an important item to have before the starting of the lunar new year. There are so many other delicious cakes, like the prosperity cupcakes, but none of them are as important as this neen go.
Neen go, which literally translated in Cantonese, “Year High” or in another words, highly prosperous year, is one of the many items offered the day before New Year’s to the Kitchen God. Yes the Kitchen God and this is the widespread belief. The new year cannot kick off to a fresh new and prosperous start without this cake. And so, a week before the new year, I decided that I would like to make this cake. I did come across with a few snafus, recipe problems not the user’s fault, and then I found the light at the end of the tunnel with the help of my dear co-worker Mei-Ling who offered me a foolproof recipe. The attempt to take on the responsibility of making this VIP cake has befuddled my sweet mother. She could not take me seriously and decided that it is better to use her inexperience hands over mine to make the cake.
Now here is the now infamous recipe from Mei Ling:
Happy Lunar New Year!
The festivities on this day is truly uplifting and enjoyable. Candies, red envelops, decorations, flowers, dragon and lion dances, dishes and pastries that I usually see once a year and the list goes on and on. I find it cute sometimes, but all the preparation and little rules to follow can be a big nuisance. Anyways, let me show you some pictures of symbolic things for the new year’s.
Graphic Chinese New Year Poster
Year of the Tiger graphic poster
Chinese Steamed Cupcakes – Faat Go/Prosperity Cakes
:Edit:
If you happen to live in New York City and you want to try this faat go recipe, I suggest that you take a visit to Chinatown and purchase a bag of homemade “wet” rice flour which is low-gluten. I can honestly tell you that I don’t know how to make this flour but I can tell you where to buy it. Having the right kind of flour is key to your prosperity cakes.
Fong Inn Too, Inc.
Fong Inn Too Menu
Now in Cantonese it is called, “Zhi mai fun.” Once you tell the clerk that you want this, he will give you a bag of rice flour which is shown below:
Hong Kong Rice Flour
Notice that this flour is clumpy and not dry like most flours. My mother tells me that this flour is essentially rice and flour that has been fermented for two days. Unfortunately I do not possess the know how, but I can tell you how it was made.
Good luck!
***
It all started with an obsession with Chinese cupcakes. AKA faat go (or huat kueh) as you say in Cantonese. My good friend Sally over at the tastyconfection and I wanted to learn how to make Chinese cupcakes because we have always eaten them. These special cupcakes are only available in Chinese bakeries during the time of Chinese New Year since they represent prosperity and success. There’s an old Chinese proverb which my mother always says that translates, “The more the cake blossoms, the more prosperous your year will be.” Something along the lines of this. Sally and I can care less about the superstitious properties that these cakes hold and wanted to eat them whenever we wanted to. The journey to find the most successful recipe was a frustrating one.
Complicated and non-traditional prosperity cupcake recipes disappointed me. I was amazed how I could not find a good old fashion Chinese recipe. There are many Malaysian and Singaporean recipes, but they’re not the ones that I am used to having. Sally tried learning the recipe from her grandmother, but unfortunately the cupcakes’ corners did not form which is why she is uncomfortable with sharing the recipe.
Now one day, my mother decided to make these cupcakes for my father’s birthday. She got the recipe from my aunt and then a couple of hours in the kitchen, she makes this:
Steamed Chinese Cupcakes aka Faat Go
Mid-Autumn Festival: Mooncakes
The annual Mid-Autumn Festival is on Saturday October 3rd and my mother has already received a few boxes of mooncakes. Click on the above link to Wikipedia to read all about this holiday. I will write all about it on the day of the holiday. Right now I want to share a few pictures of the different kinds of mooncakes that are my personal fan favorites!
Malaysian Lotus Seed Mooncake w/one yolk: KLT Mooncake
Inside of the Malaysian Kuih Bulan Lotus Seed Mooncake
Mid-Autumn Festival aka Moon Cake Day
The moon can never get any brighter and rounder at this time of the year. The Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysians, and Koreans prepare to celebrate this very special day by buying moon cakes, making special dumplings, pies, and all sorts of food. I know in my culture, we buy moon-cakes from the bakeries weeks in advance and give it to friends and families as a sign of respect and good luck.
Moon cakes are primarily made with flour, shortening, red beans, and lard. Adding eye yolk, lotus, green tea, or whatever else you want is optional.
This year I actually took the time to take pictures of the moon cake instead of stuffing my face. My mom brought home a box of Malaysian moon cakes which I have never had before and I was curious to try.
Haewaytian Cake House
This is by far the best mooncake I have ever have. This has green tea in it, which I’ve never had, which is probably why it’s not so sweet. Most moon cakes that I have are usually really sweet. So sweet that it gets to the point that I get turned off from it.
Recommended: Yes
Rating: 5/5
Now the Chinese Moon Cake.
See the difference?
Anyways, Happy Belated Moon Cake day! =) And remember to eat yours under the moon so the goddess up there can see you.
