步步高升~ 年糕 ( Nian Gao ~ Chinese New Year's cake )

人生中第一个年糕终于诞生了，

衷心的感谢一位亦师亦友的博客 - Cass 的无私分享，

让我生在e时代的当今，又没有祖传秘方的情况之下，

依然可以顺利完成“似模似样”的年糕。
My first ever "Nian Gao"! 
All thanks to my fellow blogger, Cass and her generosity in sharing this recipe, allowing me to produce a beautiful and traditional "Nian Gao" in these modern era.

年糕是华族新年的一种传统食品。

中文里年糕與“年高”諧音，有年年高的意思，

象征收入、职位或小孩子都一年比一年高。
The "Nian Gao" --- also known as Chinese New Year's Cake or Chinese Steamed Sticky Cake --- is a traditional CNY food. 
 "Nian Gao" brings the meaning of a year where everything goes up --- be it financially or the children's height(meaning that they will grow up).

 年糕早期是在年杪用來祭拜灶神，

希望他吃了甜甜黏黏的年糕，会向玉帝报佳讯，

以期待来年获得上天保佑，风调雨顺，一切顺畅。
At first, the "Nian Gao" was used to "bribe" the Kitchen God. Every year, the Kitchen God was believed to report to the Jade Emperor on the behavior of the family. 
If the reports were negative, the family will suffer from bad luck during the coming years.
Thus, the "Nian Gao" is dedicated to the Kitchen God in the hope that he would give a favorable report, and the family would be granted a prosperous new year.

一些人也喜欢在新年期间以年糕供奉祖先，

希望祖先尝了甜蜜的年糕，欢喜有加，

自然保佑祖孙，无论学业，事业或小孩都步步高升，

因此，后期就漸漸成為一種春節食品。
During the Chinese New Year, some people like to  offer the cake to their ancestors, in the hope that, after eating the sweet cake, they would bless their descendants .
 Soon, the cake evolved into a traditional CNY food.

步步高升~ 年糕 ( Nian Gao ~ Chinese New Year's cake )

食谱参考:/ recipe adapted from: Cass
用具/utensil： 5个 (6cm x 11cm )圆形模子/5 (6cm x 11cm ) round shape mould
 

材料：....................................................................Ingedients:

• 糯米粉 1kg ................................................1kg glutinous rice flour      
• 白砂糖 920g...............................................920g sugar
• 水 1.2kg......................................................1.2kg water
• 食油 1Tbsp.................................................1 tbsp cooking oil
• 香蕉叶 数片...............................................few banana leaves

做法：．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．Ｍｅｔｈｏｄｓ：
1。 香蕉叶用热水烫软，待用。
1.  Use the hot water to soften the banana leaves, then put aside.

2。 把白砂糖放入一个干净的锅里，中小火炒至白砂糖转变为深褐色。
2.   Pour sugar into a pot,stir it over a medium flame till it turns into caramel.

 
3。 熄火，把水慢慢加入（不可以太过用力，不然水会喷出来），把水加入后，焦糖会变硬，然后再慢慢把水煮滚至里头的焦糖溶化，把焦糖水放置一旁冷却。
3.  Remove the pot from fire, slowly add in water(do not pour too fast, otherwise the water will splash out). After adding water, the caramel will harden, so boil it again to melt it. Put the melted caramel liquid aside and let it cool .

4。 把糯米粉筛过，在把糯米粉一点一点加入，用手拌器把糯米粉和焦糖水搅拌混合均匀，直到面糊顺滑没有糯米粉颗粒为止，再加入食油搅拌均匀。
4.   Sieve the glutinous rice flour into the cooled caramel liquid, then stir until well combined. Next, add in the cooking oil and mix well.

5。 把香蕉叶铺在模具里，把面糊倒入模具里头。
5.   Line the mould with banana leaf, then pour the mixture into the mould.

 
6。 放入滚热的蒸笼里，大火蒸半小时，然后再转中火蒸1.5个小时，即可。
6.   Steam "Nian Gao" using high flame for about 30 minutes, then turn down to medium flame for another 1.5 hours. Remove and allow to cool before unmould.

***　步步高升，年年进步！***