Chinese New Year Pudding

Called nian gao in Mandarin and nin go in Cantonese, this sticky pudding is eaten all over China during the Chinese New Year because of the punning symbolism around the sound gao or go, which means both pudding and to grow. The consumption of this food is thus an act beckoning the physical growth of one’s children, or the growth of one’s business, if not more explicitly, of one’s pile of banknotes! Symbolism aside, I love the viscous texture half sticking to my teeth.