Easy Chinese New Year cookies Recipes

~ I bought the kueh bangkit mould at baking shop which cost SG.20 each)

Steamed Yam Cake

[Lunar New Year Goodies] Steamed Yam Cake

Other than cookies and cakes, we also made some of our family all-time Chinese New Year favourite such as Steamed Yam Cake, Ngoh Hiang (wu xiang) and Orr Nee (yam paste). There are quite a few methods in making yam cake where you can use different combinations of flour and ingredients. Here my mum's version featured on using rice flour, mushroom, Chinese sausage and diced yam because I prefer the texture on eating whole piece of yam rather than shredded.

[Lunar New Year Goodies] Step-by-Step on making Steamed Yam Cake

(Make: 8" Round/Square Tin | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 20 - 25 minutes)

Ingredients:
400g Yam (taro or 芋头), peeled and diced
30g Dried Shrimp, soaked till soften
5 Fresh Shiitake Mushroom, sliced
2 Shallots, chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
250ml water

Flour Batter:
200g Rice Flour (茨粉)
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
500ml Water

Seasonings:
1 Tablespoon White Pepper
1/2 Tablespoon Five Spice Powder
1 Chicken Stock Cube
1/2 Teaspoon Sesame Oil

Garnish:
Some Chopped Spring Onion
Some Chopped Coriander
Some Fried Shallot Flakes

Method:-
1. Please refer to the steps on the steamed yam cake recipe post here.

Tips:
~ Alternatively, you can divide the yam batter into small disposal foil tins (14cm x 10cm) like what I did which makes it a great festive gift ideas too.

NGOH HIANG

[Lunar New Year Goodies] Ngoh Hiang

"Ngoh Hiang (五香)" is a must have in our family and I remember during my childhood time me and my brother always look forward to it during Chinese New Year. The version that my mum made always varies depending on the ingredients that she bought but basically the main items would still be minced meat, shrimp, water chestnut and yam (taro).

Step-by-step recipe for Homemade Ngoh Hiang can be found at another separate post here.

TEOCHEW ORR NEE

[Lunar New Year Goodies] Ore Nee

Orr Nee (芋泥) is one of the traditional Teochew (朝洲) dessert which often served at a Chinese Wedding banquet which symbolises unity and happiness for the newly weds. For us we always made a few of boxes and stored them in the fridge with optional toppings (pre-cooked) such as mashed pumpkin, water chestnut and gingko nuts. For us we preferred to served this dessert lukewarm with drizzle of coconut milk to enhance it's taste. Recipe for this Homemade Orr Nee can be found in another separate post here.

Osmanthus Chestnut Cake

[Lunar New Year Goodies] Osmanthus Chestnut Cake

Like what I did for last Chinese New Year, this year I also made some Osmanthus Chestnut Cake (桂花马蹄糕) for friends and relatives as well as for our own. This cake is very easy to prepare by just mixing the chestnut flour batter with the sugar syrup and cook till it turns gluey then divided them into separate tins/trays and steamed till cooked through.

The trick to master this cake is to steamed it on Medium High heat for 10 minutes then lower the heat to Medium and continue to steam for another 10 minutes or more depending on the size of the cake. When done the cake might still look gluey but just let it cool completely at room temperature before chilling it in the fridge overnight so that it will be for firm to slice and serve.

Step-by step recipe for this Osmanthus Chestnut Cake can be found in another separate post here.

[Lunar New Year Goodies] Osmanthus And Chestnut Koi Jelly

Other than Steamed Osmanthus Cake perhaps you can also consider to make these adorable Osmanthus And Chestnut Koi Jelly which is super easy to prepare as one of the Chinese New Year feast dessert too. Step-by-step recipe for this koi jelly can be found in another separate post here.