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Homemade Rice Crispy with Peanut โ€“ ็ฑณ้€š

A simple treat that is Chinese and very popular during the Chinese New Years would be Rice Krispies and often has peanuts.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Roasted Peanuts
1 cup dried rice (I use less dried rice)
1/4 tsp minced ginger (optional)
1/2 lime (juiced)
1 tbsp butter
oil for frying
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

If you’re wanting to make this recipe, be sure to start drying your cooked rice. I just leave my rice out of a plate, and turn it every once in awhile. It does take a few days to dry completely.

The first thing you want to do is roast the peanuts and then you can set it aside.

Next, get the oil up to temperature on a low boil. I normally turn my oil to medium until you hear the oil bubbling as it’s scorching hot. When it’s at that phase, I turn it down a notch. I then pour the rice in the oil in batches and scoop it out when it’s puffed. The rice is extremely hot and crispy at this stage and the rice will actually stay crispy from here on in.

Now that the peanuts are roasted, and the rice is “puffed”, mix it together in a large bowl – then it’s time to make the caramel! Simply in a pot, pour the sugar into the pot and then the water. Turn the heat on to medium and leave it there. It will begin to bubble, then the water will evaporate. The sugar syrup will begin to brown – and watch for this. From the browning stage it burns fast and there is no turning back after it’s burnt. I like to add the ginger, butter and lime juice right at the end to stop the caramel from cooking further.

When the caramel is ready, it’s important to work fast now as the caramel will cool, set and harden. Mix everything together and press into a dish. Let the mixture cool completely – then cut, serve and enjoy!

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If you really just want the treat without the labour, it is available in the bakery section of your Asian grocery store! ๐Ÿ™‚ Of course, Chinese Rice Crispies aren’t the same when it isn’t homemade!

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Homemade Chinese Nian Gao – ๅนด็ณ•

Sweet Sticky Rice Cake – Neen Gow

It’s that that time of year when we’re in our kitchens cooking up a storm and sharing goodies with family and friends. One goodie you’ll always see is the Nian Gao which is a very simple recipe that is very sticky with a hint of sweetness.

Ingredients (makes 1 – 8″ pan)
2 cups of Glutenous Rice Flour
300 mL boiling water
1 cup brown sugar or 5 sticks of peen tong (็‰‡็ณ–)

Note: You can add more sugar if you like it sweeter – we like it much more subtle tasting!

Peen tong is basically Chinese Rock Sugar or Chinese Rock Candy and it comes in a pack of “slabs of sugar”. If you don’t want to purchase/use it, or simply can’t find it, a great substitution would be to use brown sugar – which is what I did as it was sold out when I wanted to get it!

First off, boil some water and dissolve the sugar into it. When it becomes a syrup, you’re ready to start making your nian gao! Measure out the glutenous rice flour and pour in your syrup. Caution, this is a boiling water mixture, but make sure it’s hot!!

Mix together until it’s smooth and creamy and pour it into the dish you’d like to steam your nian gao in before it gets cold.

Once the nian gao is ready in it’s dish, put it into the steamer for about 1 hour to an hour and a half. You’ll know it’s ready when you can move the edges and it’s set. If you stick anything into this cake, it’ll stick so the toothpick test is not a good idea in this case.

If you’re enjoying it right away, be sure to allow it to cool and set for at least 15 minutes. It will be really soft and gooey and very sticky at this point – but it’s always nice to eat freshly steamed food. If you like it properly made, once it’s cooled enough, pop it in the fridge for at least 3 hours where you can cut it up and serve.

One of the ways we like to eat nian gao is to pan fry it with an egg. So, we cut the nian gao into pieces and dunk it into a beaten egg before placing it on a fry pan with some oil. It’s very important to do this on low temperatures or the nian gao will melt and stick to your pan. You’ll know these are ready when it’s “soft and gummy”.

Things I’ve heard about nian gao, but I’ve never tried it – I guess you can bake your nian gao instead of steaming it, and you’ll get a crunchier topping and more cake-like. It does however use another recipe but I don’t know it and haven’t tried it yet. But, I’m thinking I should one day! I’ve also heard that nian gao’s are extremely freezable, and when you want to enjoy it again, just steam it back up! It could be handy if you’ve received one too many for New Years!

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Chinese Rice Crispies with Peanut

Chinese New Years often entails lots of deep fried goodies, and there are many sweets and snacks associated with Chinese New Years.

Rice Crispy with Peanut – ็ฑณ้€š

is often a treat that is made at home and it’s nothing like Rice Crispy treats that are store bought or made with cereal.

These snacks only have a subtle sweetness to them, and much more peanut flavour. Once you open the box that’s the primary smell you’ll notice.

Once you bit down on these treats, you’ll definitely notice the super crispiness of the treat and then the peanut taste and texture fills your mouth. Then, as a back note, you definitely get the ginger taste! It’s a great combination of all the subtle flavours and the remarkable texture makes it such that you want to eat lots!

If you have the time, be sure you try to make these rice crispies at home! Here’s a walk-through on how I made mine Homemade Chinese Rice Crispies!