Gingery New Year Cake . 勁薑黑糖年糕

                                       

I said it's done with my cake ingredient testing, it must have included this super delicious Gingery New Year Cake. Relatives and friends just love it. They have requested different gingery levels to their tastes. Most of them love the most gingery one which I put in 300 ml freshly squeezed ginger juice to each cake. It really depends on how juicy the old ginger is every year, sometimes, I need 600 g or more fresh ginger for one cake, so buying and bringing gingers home is not an easy task if I need to make so many boxes of cake.


我說完成糕點材料測試，這自然也包括了這個我也認同，也是親友口中說的超級美味勁薑黑糖年糕。 親友們真的非常喜歡吃。 他們也會要求他們喜歡的薑辣程度，而大部份人都喜歡我為每盆放入了 300毫升 鮮榨老薑汁的“勁薑”黑糖年糕。 每年要看也要計算老薑的出汁量，有時候一個一公斤的 勁薑黑糖年糕會用上 600克 或以上的新鮮老薑。所以如果要造很多盆糕，買薑和捧薑回家並不是一件容易的事情。

I have had the traditional New Year cake from childhood. And had tried using the so-called traditional way to make my New Year Cakes for years. And what  are the traditional ways and ingredients of the cake?  It's usually made with plain glutinous flour, sugar and water; and mix it with part of the flour and hot syrup into dough, stir in hot syrup gradually and stir/beat it like crazy for half an hour or so. It really comes out soft and very chewy, but does it make it a big difference in taste if we could substitute part of the flour with other ingredients and have machine to help. I really don't find a big difference. I can easily make my New Year Cake as chewy as the traditional way I used before. To think of why people made new year cake using the primitive way and basic ingredients in the olden days, it was because there was no substitutes at that time and no machines there to help. Don't blame me using the easy way if it could already give me the same or similar chewiness.

What would make the New Year Cake taste differently, that's the additional ingredients, you could make it with coconut milk and even put in ginger juice like me. 

If you line the container with banana leaves, the cakes will definitely bring you additional aroma from the leaves.

從小到大有好多新年都吃古法年糕，自己也曾有一段時間執著於用古法造年糕，即使用大熱糖水撞粉成糰，再用大木棒瘋狂似地攪拌稠粉漿至有靭度，弄得兩前臂和手掌通紅也沒放棄。如果你問我古法年糕真的這麼好吃嗎? 值得為幾十盆糕弄到手又紅、腰又痛嗎? 我今天的答案是，古法造的年糕好吃，但不用古法的只要找對食譜，同樣煙韌有度。

前幾年終於想通了，古時人用古法又只用糯米加水加糖造年糕是因為並無選擇，一切取材身边有的工具和材料。現在我會用不同工具和食材幫忙，造出同樣美味的年糕; 有很多時候，人是要與時並進的，口味亦然。

與其說古法造年糕特別好味，不如說配合不同食材會造出不同口味的年糕更實際，譬如加了椰奶就成椰汁年糕，如我般加入大量薑汁即成勁薑年糕。

唯一確切會影响純年糕香味的是放粉漿前糕盆先鋪上蕉葉，那麼蒸好的年糕一定也帶葉香。

去年造的糕，今天開鑼


The cakes I made last year, and going to make the bulk for this year soon

Gingery New Year Cake

Cake Pan：16.5cm x 11.50cm x 7.62cm

Ingredients:

Glutinous Rice Flour 300g

Tapioca flour 65g

Non-Glutinous Rice Flour5g

Water 250ml

Brown Sugar 230g

Vegetable Oil 1 tbsp

Fresh Squeezed Ginger Juice 300ml

Garnishing:

Toasted White Sesame  a little

Method:

1. Peel and squeeze juice to 300ml

2. Mix flours by adding 250ml of watergradually into a dough; if too dry, you may add in 50ml ginger juice from (1)

3. Cook ginger juice, oil and sugar tillfully boiled, and add in gradually into (2) and beat it using a dough hook tillwell mixed

4, Strain the cake mixture into a greasedcake pan, put a foil on top of the pan, and steam at 95C for 60 minutes eitherin a steam oven or a wok

Cooking Tips:

1. This recipe is very gingery.  You may adjust it to your taste by replacingpart of the ginger juice with water. Suggestion: Use 200ml ginger juice formedium gingery, and 100ml for mild gingery. You could also replace ginger juicewith water for regular New Year Cake; with fresh coconut milk for CoconutFlavored New Year Cake

2. You could also replace ginger juicewith water for regular New Year Cake; with fresh coconut milk for CoconutFlavored New Year Cake

3. This cake is mild sweet, add sugar tothe recipe if you want sweeter. You may add a little more sugar to the cake if your ginger is very spicy. I used 250 g sugar this year as the old ginger that I bought is very gingery; if for 200 ml ginger juicy, you may use 245 g sugar and 240 g sugar for 100 ml ginger juicy; for plain, 230 g sugar is good enough

4. This cake can be served hot, orpan-fried with beaten egg. This recipe is a soft but chewy.  It is soft right after steaming, but willturn to right chewiness after 1 or 2 days after water is fully evaporated

5. If you want the cake soft and little chewy,mix flours with cold water; if you want it more chewy, then mix flours with hotwater

6. You can control the texture andchewiness of the cake using the same recipe, my secret tip is the temperatureof water.

7. Steam cake at 95C is to keep the cake surface smooth

勁薑黑糖年糕

糕盆：16.5cm x 11.50cm x 7.62cm

材料:
糯米粉300g
木薯粉65g
澄麵5g
水 250ml
黑糖或純蔗糖 250g
菜油 1 tbsp
鮮榨老薑汁 300ml

裝飾:

炒香白芝麻  適量

做法:
1. 老薑去皮搾出300ml 汁，備用
2. 粉類逐少加入250ml 水拌成粉糰，如粉太亁，可從薑汁加入50ml
3. 在鍋中放入薑汁 、油和糖煑至滚起及糖溶成糖漿，趁熱分三次冲入糯米粉糰內，用棒或机拌勻至沒粒狀
4. 拌勻粉漿先過篩入糕盆，盆上輕蓋錫紙，放入蒸爐   95 C或鑊中大火蒸約 60分鐘。取出待涼收水。

提示:
1. 此食譜薑味頗濃，可依個人口味以水代替部份薑汁
2. 不吃薑的可用水取代薑汁，或用椰汁取代成椰汁黑糖年糕
3. 愛吃甜的，可酌量多加糖。如薑味太辣，也要加多一點糖。一般這食譜我只用230g糖，今年的老薑辣，所以我多加了20g。如做中薑200ml 薑汁，可用245g糖；微薑 100ml的，可用240g糖；不用薑汁的 230g 糖已足夠
4. 年糕可切開熱食，亦可配蛋汁香煎。此食譜屬軟糯得來煙靱，剛蒸好較軟，待涼收水約一兩天後，蒸熱或香煎都好軟滑香糯。
5. 如果想軟糯，用冷水和粉; 如果想煙靭，用熱水先和粉
6. 同一食譜，做法相同，秘訣在水的温度
7. 用95C蒸糕是想粉漿不要長時間在沸點，使糕面不平坦