Last Updated on July 29, 2020 by Ed Joven
How to cook Homemade Special Tikoy
Special Tikoy Recipe - One of the things we Filipinos love about Chinese New Year is receiving one delicious dessert, which is Tikoy. Tikoy is a rice cake that is called Nian gao in Chinese, which means ‘Year cake.’ This rice cake symbolizes prosperity.
The history of this gooey dessert can be traced back to more than a thousand years. It is a dessert that you can eat any time of the year, but it did become a custom to eat this during the first day of the lunar year. After some years have passed, and given how cultures spread, even other nations started to take part in the celebration, including eating and giving Tikoy. Now, here in the Philippines, Tikoy is a dessert we look forward to during the Chinese New Year.
The taste of Tikoy is undeniably tasty, but there’s more to love about it than just its taste. One of the reasons to love Tikoy is that it has health benefits. The primary benefit that people can get from eating it is it is a good source of energy. High carbohydrates content is present in Tikoy because of ingredients in it, like rice flour and sugar. Carbohydrate is a good source of energy. Of course, you should not eat this regularly, but if you do eat Tikoy, there is no need to worry about consuming more carbs for the day because you already have consumed the needed carbohydrate for the day if you do eat this. Plus, it helps you feel fuller. So, it is a good filler if you feel hungry. But remember, consuming this must be done in moderation.
Since Chinese New Year is drawing near, make giving your family and friends Tikoy extra special by making it on your own. Yes, it would be easier to buy instead of making it, but would it not be more thoughtful that way. There is no need to get intimated in making this, and the recipe is not as hard as it looks. It only has a handful of ingredients with a process that involves combining the ingredients and steaming them.
Additionally, it takes only an hour to finish. You can do other things as well as it cooks. Learn how to make Special Tikoy Recipe below.
Special Tikoy Ingredients and Cooking Procedure : |
Homemade Special Tikoy
Ingredients
Tikoy:
- ½ cup warm water
- 5 tbsp. refined sugar
- 2 cups glutinous rice flour “Malagkit”
- A pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6-8 tablespoon water as needed add 1 tablespoon at a time
- 1 tablespoon oil for greasing
You also Need:
- 2 medium Llanera
- 2 6×8 aluminium foil, use to cover your Llanera
- A steamer with at least 1.5 liters of water
To Fry you need Eggwash:
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tbsp. fresh milk
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup desiccated coconut (optional)
- ¼ cup canola oil for frying
Instructions
- Prepare the wok for steaming.
- In a bowl, mix the boiling water and the sugar. Stir constantly to dissolve. (If using peen tong, break the candy into several pieces, so that it will dissolve more easily in the boiling water.) Cool.
- Soak the Chinese dates in hot water for at least 30 minutes to soften. Another way is to place them in a bowl with water and microwave on high heat for 30 seconds. Cut the dates in half and remove the pits.
- Place the glutinous rice flour in a large bowl. Make a hole in the middle and add in the sugar and water mixture. Add the milk and begin shaping the dough.
- Add 1 tablespoon of water to the dough at a time, until you have a smooth dough with a satiny texture. Mix ½-¾ of the Chinese dates, nuts or other dried fruit as you are adding water and working with the dough.
- Grease a 7 inch square cake pan with vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray.
- Place the dough in the cake pan and spread it out to the edges. Decorate with the remaining dates, lightly pushing them into the dough. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
- Steam the cake over medium-high to high heat for 45 minutes or until the edges of the cake pull away from the pan.
- Remove the cake from the heat and cool.
- Use a knife to loosen the edges, then remove the cake.
- Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate overnight.
Video
Nutrition
To serve :
Cut the cake into quarters and then into thin slices 2-3 inches long and ¼ inch wide.
There are Two ways to serve Tikoy...
- You can serve the cake as is or reheat it in the microwave (the amount of time will depend on the size and power of your microwave-start with 10 seconds and then microwave an extra 5 seconds if needed) or re-steam it for 4-5 minutes.
- Another way to serve is to pan-fry the cake, dipping the cake in an egg wash before frying.
- Use a small amount of oil so that the cake will not taste oily.
- Heat the oil on medium-high to high heat, then turn the heat down to medium and brown the cake slices briefly on both sides.
Special Tikoy Recipe (Nian Gao) is always present during Chinese New Year in the Philippines, and now you can make at home with this recipe.
Filipino Chinese New Year Recipes:
- Siomai Recipe
- Chinese Beef Broccoli Recipe
- Chop seuy Recipe
- Pancit Canton Recipe
- Butsi Recipe
- Chinese New Year Recipes
Nikolina says
Oh, this looks so good, I can almost smell it... 🙂
Jaz says
Do you really need to add Dried Fruit?!!?