• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese

Tiny Urban Kitchen

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Ecriture Hong Kong
      Unexpectedly Closed: Écriture Hong Kong (2 Michelin Stars)
    • 凹糟管 Aozao Restaurant
      Aozao Guan 凹糟館 - Modern Yunnan Cuisine in Kunming, China
    • Kunming China
      Two Days in Kunming Yunnan China
    • Xishuangbanna Yunnan China
      Xishuangbanna: Hani Minority Food
    • Gaozhuang Night Market Xishuangbanna 告莊夜市
    • Xishuangbanna Yunnan China
      Xishuangbanna - Dai Cuisine & Culture
    • Restaurant 摩 Mora, Hong Kong - Vicky Lau
      Restaurant Mora 摩 Hong Kong by Vicky Lau
    • Guilin Yangshuo China
      Guilin Yangshuo Food + Lodging Report
    • Guilin Yangshuo China
      Guilin & Yangshuo China Trip Report
    • Hangzhou West Lake China
      Hangzhou China Trip Report
    • Wild Mushroom Hot Pot Yunnan
      Poisonous(?) Mushroom Hot Pot in Yunnan
    • jian Shui Yunnan China
      Foreigners Navigating Post-Pandemic Travel in China During Chinese New Year
    Home » Recipe » Dessert » Baking

    Published: Feb 23, 2010 · Modified: Jan 28, 2017 by Jennifer Che

    Red Bean Mochi Cake (nian gao)

    _1020161-2
    It's dangerous to have these mochi cakes lying around the house at midnight while I'm blogging.  Maybe it's their addictive chewy texture. Or the deliciously sweet red beans strewn throughout the cake. Or maybe I secretly think it's low fat, so it's OK to eat at night.

    Whatever it is, I can't just have one. In fact, I can hardly keep from eating the entire loaf.  It doesn't help that I love red beans and anything made with mochi flour.

    Mochi cake (or "nian gao" 年糕 as it is called in mandarin) is a classic dessert that is especially popular during Chinese New Year.  The term "nian gao" sort of has a double (or even quadruple) meaning in Chinese.  In Chinese, the pronunciation "nian" sounds like the word for year (年)and sticky (粘). The word "gao" sound like the word for cake (糕) but also sounds like tall or high (高).

    You can imagine the combinations:  New Year cake!  Sticky cake!  Reaching higher with the New Year!  Sticky tall!  (ok, that last one doesn't make that much sense).  But you get the point.  This dessert is popular during the New Year  because it symbolizes all these wonderful ideas about wishing each other good health and fortune. Chinese people love those double meanings.

    Traditional Chinese new year cake is steamed.  This version has been modified for the Western kitchen - it's baked in an oven!  I personally like this version better, as it has a nice browned crust that doesn't exist in the steamed version.  The best part?  This simple recipe has a short ingredient list and only takes 10 minutes to prepare.
    _1020165-3
    This recipe is really really flexible.  In fact, you don't even have to add red bean.  You can add something else if you like (ha ha, I once even tried coffee! yes, I love coffee).  And if you do add red bean paste, you can add as much or as little as you want.  I only added ¾ of a cup, but some people like to add an entire can!  It's really up to you.

    The sugar amount is also flexible, depending on your sweetness tolerance.  I recently made it with 1 ¼ cup sugar, which I personally though was plenty sweet enough.
    MochiRedBeanCake-1
    Red Bean Mochi Cake
    prep time 10 | minutes bake time 1 hr | makes 2 loafs

    1 lb sweet/glutinous rice flour (e.g., Mochiko, the bag with the green text in those Asian stores)
    3 eggs
    ⅓ cup vegetable oil
    2 cups milk (or water)
    1 to 1 ½ cups of sugar
    ½ - 1 cup red bean paste

    Mix together all the ingredients except the red bean paste.  Stir in the red bean paste.  Bak at 350 degrees in a 9 x 13 pan or 2 loaf pans for 45 min - 1 hour.  Cake is done when you can insert a knife cleanly.
    _1020167-4
    Slice it up!  And enjoy!  This tastes great warm or at room temperature.  At room temperature it has more of that characteristic chewiness.  When it's warm, it's a bit softer and slightly gooey.  I love toasting it in the toaster oven in the morning.  The inside gets nice and warm and the edge gets nicely toasted.
    _1020159-1
    Happy Chinese New Year!

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Baking

    • Totoro Valentine Cookies (Matcha)
    • Matcha Mochi Cake
    • Chinese Eggnog Tarts
    • Kabocha Pumpkin Mochi Cake

    Recent Posts

    • Unexpectedly Closed: Écriture Hong Kong (2 Michelin Stars) October 10, 2023
    • Aozao Guan 凹糟館 - Modern Yunnan Cuisine in Kunming, China October 8, 2023
    • Two Days in Kunming Yunnan China October 7, 2023
    • Xishuangbanna: Hani Minority Food September 10, 2023
    • Gaozhuang Night Market Xishuangbanna 告莊夜市 September 7, 2023
    • Xishuangbanna - Dai Cuisine & Culture September 4, 2023
    • Restaurant Mora 摩 Hong Kong by Vicky Lau August 31, 2023
    • Guilin Yangshuo Food + Lodging Report August 26, 2023

    Reader Interactions

    Trackbacks

    1. Chinese New Years Eve Feast | Explore Traveler says:
      March 12, 2015 at 10:43 pm

      […] https://tinyurbankitchen.com/red-bean-mochi-loaf/ […]

      Log in to Reply
    2. red bean mochi – than a thousand elsewhere says:
      January 29, 2017 at 11:53 pm

      […] Red Bean Mochi Cake prep time 10 | minutes bake time 1 hr | makes 2 loafs […]

      Log in to Reply
    3. Baked Red Bean Mochi Cake – Food 'n stuff says:
      January 12, 2018 at 4:45 pm

      […] Loved this recipe! […]

      Log in to Reply
    4. Tiny Urban Kitchen is 10 Years Old! - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
      October 1, 2019 at 12:03 pm

      […] Red Bean Mochi Cake […]

      Log in to Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • jian Shui Yunnan China
      Jian Shui Yunnan Trip Report
    • Jen's Top Restaurants to visit in Boston - 2023 Update
    • I'm Featured in the South China Morning Post! (SCMP)
    • Restaurant Table Paris France
      Restaurant Table Bruno Verjus Paris

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012
    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2022 Tiny Urban Kitchen