年糕

年過了，家中的蕉葉年糕也長了霉。這別人送的年糕，還附有一段英文說明，挺有趣。
今年真有口福，吃到阿佐煎的年糕。小時候，母親做的年糕特別香；經十多小時柴火、用大鐵鑊蒸出的香軟黏稠年糕，少不了我在爐邊掌看材火的汗水功勞。
以前家里做的年糕是真的真材實料，擺放一整年再蒸來吃都很好吃。

Nian Gao(年糕),or Chinese New Year's cake, is sweet and sticky and represents family cohesion (as in, the family that sticks together....)and rising fortune.
Nian is a homonym for both 'sticky' and 'year', and gao is a homonym for 'cake' and 'to rise up'. It is a must at Lunar New Year's time to wish for a family that is stuck together and for good luck in the coming year.
Some say that the higher the cake rises in the steamer, the higher family fortunes will rise in the coming year.
Nian gao is not just for Chinese New Year. It makes great party finger food too. Every year the mother will buy several sweet nian gao and freeze them for later use.
High in sugar content, the glutinous rice cake keeps well. Whenever there is a casual get together, she will fry up a big patch of nian gao with sweet potato on one side and yam on the other.
Crispy with a sticky gooey filling, I will be pinching the hot slices right off the fryer and eating them at the risk of burning my mouth.