The Year of the Dog event in Overwatch is nearing its end. You have one week left to get all the items you possibly can from those loot boxes. I managed to get all the items I really wanted so I do not need to spend any of my tokens. I have not spent any time in competitive capture the flag but I do keep considering it. If anything, just for some extra competitive points. Of course, I still do not know which gold weapon to pick. I’ve had enough points for a while now but just can’t decide on one.
A player icon was added during last year’s event called the New Year Cake. I began doing research and learned that a traditional dessert served for the Chinese New Year is a steamed rice cake. After a bit of research and testing flavors, I was still a bit unsure about this recipe. I finished the steaming process and took pictures to match the in-game image. I then cut a slice and it reminded me of cheung fun: a dish I’ve had at dim sum many times. But I wasn’t completely sold on the recipe quite yet. The most important part of this recipe is pan frying the cake slices after you cut it. This adds a nice additional texture to the cake. I will warn you that the cake out in the open has a shelf life of about 2 days. Make sure to enjoy it all quickly or store it in the refrigerator.
Ingredients:
3 cups water
2 slices of ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 pieces of lemon peel
3 pieces of orange peel
1 cup (200 g) brown sugar
3 cups (454 g) sweet rice flour
1 tbsp (11 g) vanilla extract
1 tsp (4 g) vegetable oil
1 tbsp orange juice
1 dried date
Place the water, ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise, lemon peel, and orange peel in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove all the items in the water. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.
Place the sweet rice flour in a large bowl. Stir in the the cooled flavored water until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and orange juice. Take a 9” springform pan and spray the inside of the pan with non-stick spray. Carefully line the pan with parchment paper.
Pour the batter into the pan. To remove excess air bubbles from the cake, drop the pan on a counter several times.
Top the cake with one dried date in the center. Heat water in a pot with a steamer basket and let it come to a boil. Place the cake in the steamer basket and steam for 90 minutes, or until the cake passes the toothpick test.
Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cutting board. Currently, the cake will match the image in-game but personally I prefer it pan fried. Cut the cake into slices with a slightly dampened knife. The cake will stick to the knife so make sure to wipe it down with a wet paper towel between each cut.
Place each slice in a greased pan over medium-high heat. Cook each side until it crisps up slightly.
Chinese New Year Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 2 slices ginger
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 2 pieces of lemon peel
- 3 pieces of orange peel
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 cups sweet rice flour
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 1 dried date
Instructions
- Place the water, ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise, lemon peel, and orange peel in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove all the items in the water. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.
- Place the sweet rice flour in a large bowl. Stir in the the cooled flavored water until smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and orange juice.
- Take a 9” springform pan and spray the inside of the pan with non-stick spray. Carefully line the pan with parchment paper.
- Pour the batter into the pan. To remove excess air bubbles from the cake, drop the pan on a counter several times.
- Top the cake with one dried date in the center. Heat water in a pot with a steamer basket and let it come to a boil. Place the cake in the steamer basket and steam for 90 minutes
To pan fry
- Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cutting board. Cut the cake into slices with a slightly dampened knife. The cake will stick to the knife so make sure to wipe it down with a wet paper towel between each cut.
- Place each slice in a greased pan over medium-high heat. Cook each side until it crisps up slightly.
Whoaaa…that’s a fun story to tell our kids. I love nian gao in banana leaves, too! Tastes so good and smells super nice when they’re pan fried. Yum!