Lunar New Year is right around the corner! It’s the time of year when families and friends get together to celebrate the new year. One of the most popular celebrations is tikoy!
Tikoy is a Chinese-Filipino sweet sticky rice cake (nian gao) that is made of glutinous rice flour and sugar. It is eaten during festivities including Lunar New Year.
This blog post will explore the origins and history of Tikoy, along with a recipe that you can use to make your own delicious version of the rice cake at home! Keep reading to learn more!
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Chinese influence in the Philippines dates back over 700 years when the Philippines began trade relations with China. This was before Spanish colonization began in the sixteenth century.
Some of the earliest Filipino Chinese migrants were sailors who traveled from China to the Philippines as merchants and later as missionaries.
Fun fact: Manila has the world’s oldest Chinatown – located right in the city’s heart at Binondo district. It has a large population of Chinoys (Filipinos of Chinese descent) and was established in 1594 as a settlement for migrants from China.
China’s early contact with the Philippines has led to many elements of Philippine culture and cuisine being influenced by Chinese culinary traditions.
One of the best-known examples of this is tikoy, a sweet sticky rice cake that is eaten during celebrations such as Lunar New Year and Christmas.
Tikoy is said to have been brought over by immigrants from the Fujian province in China to the Philippines in the 19th century. The word “tikoy” comes from the Hokkien term “ti keuh” meaning “sweet cake.”
Tikoy is equivalent to nian gao, which is the Mandarin name of the sweet rice cake.
Why is Tikoy eaten during Lunar New Year?
Tikoy is traditionally served during Lunar New Year to celebrate the coming of the new year with family and friends. Eating tikoy is considered to be good luck and to bring prosperity throughout the year.
Because the cake is very sticky, this also symbolizes togetherness – people eat tikoy with each other to symbolize unity and harmony. Eating tikoy also means that luck will stick to you all year long!
Ways to Prepare and Serve Tikoy
There are many ways of preparing and serving tikoy.
In this blog post, we will teach you how to make it the two most popular ways. The first way is to simply steam it. The second way is to steam, slice, and then pan fry it until golden brown. Both methods yield a delicious result that your family is sure to enjoy!
You can choose to use either white sugar or brown sugar, which will change the color and taste of the tikoy. For toppings, you can sprinkle it with sesame seeds or even add peanuts, chinese dates, or macapuno!
There are a lot of creative ways to make tikoy in Filipino cuisine. There are tikoy rolls in which the thin slice of tikoy is rolled up with a filling like peanut butter, sweet bean paste, or fruit.
In some specialty bakeries, they use molds to make the tikoy into decorative shapes like a flower, a koi fish, or even gold bars.
There are variations in flavor from region to region as well, so there are many different types of tikoy to try!
Tips for making the perfect Tikoy
Double check that you are using glutinous rice flour, which is not the same as rice flour. Mochiko is a type of glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice flour can also be labeled as sweet rice flour.
When steaming, cover it with a banana leaf or towel to prevent water drops from falling into the mixture. However, I find that it is not that important if you plan to slice it up and pan fry. It is more important if you want to serve it just steamed, because you want the top to be aesthetically presented.
Use the toothpick test when steaming to make sure it’s cooked all the way through.
If you plan to pan fry it, we recommend you refrigerate it overnight. The tikoy becomes much easier to slice!
Grease your knife with vegetable oil for easier slicing.
How to store Tikoy
Tikoy can be stored in the refrigerator for one week or on the countertop for about two days.
Make sure to tightly wrap it in either plastic wrap or aluminum foil to keep it fresh. We recommend to store it whole and then slice it when ready to serve.
If you want to freeze it, wrap it in plastic and foil and freeze for a month. Once it’s thawed, it will taste as good as fresh!
Ingredients
Tikoy
1 cup glutinous rice flour sifted
½ cup sugar brown or white
1 cup hot water
sesame seeds for topping
For pan frying (optional):
1 egg beaten
butter or oil for the pan
Note 1. This recipe can serve many portions depending on the size of your slices. The 6″ round size was more than enough for me, Elijah, and two other guests.
Recipe
Make Tikoy:
Dissolve the sugar in hot water. Let it cool a few minutes to warm water.
In a bowl, sift the glutinous rice flour. Then gradually mix in the sugar water mixture. Mix until ingredients are evenly incorporated and smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased 6″ round cake pan. Gently rotate and tap to smooth out the top. You can use any round, rectangular, or square pan that fits in your steamer. (See Note 2.)
Note 2. You can use round, square, or rectangular pans to make tikoy, so long as it fits in your steamer.
In this blog post, the brown tikoy was made using a 6″ round cake pan.
As for the white tikoy (you’ll see us pan fry this one), it was made using a rectangular Pyrex dish that measures 8x6x2″. For this pan, we doubled the recipe and the steam time was about one hour.
If you use a pan that is larger than a 6″ round, we recommend you multiply the recipe and adjust the steam time accordingly. Make sure to keep the batter thickness between 1-2″ thick, to allow it to steam evenly.
Add sesame seeds for the topping.
Steam for 15 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
To serve immediately:
Run a table knife along the sides to release the tikoy from the pan. Slice and serve as desired.
To pan fry (optional):
Cover and refrigerate overnight. This will help for slicing.
Use a greased knife to slice the tikoy into thin rectangular pieces.
Dip each piece into beaten egg, then pan fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Final Thoughts
Bring good luck, harmony, and unity to your Lunar New Year Celebration or other special occasion using our tikoy recipe! With less than 5 ingredients, you can whip up this delicacy in no time!
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Bring good luck, harmony, and unity to your Lunar New Year Celebration or other special occasion using our tikoy recipe! With less than 5 ingredients, you can whip up this delicacy in no time!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian, Chinese, Filipino
Keyword asian dessert, lunar new year, nian gao, sticky rice
Dissolve the sugar in hot water. Let it cool a few minutes to warm water.
In a bowl, sift the glutinous rice flour. Then gradually mix in the sugar water mixture. Mix until ingredients are evenly incorporated and smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased 6" round cake pan. Gently rotate and tap to smooth out the top. You can use any round, rectangular, or square pan that fits in your steamer. (See note 2.)
Add sesame seeds for the topping.
Steam for 15 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
To serve immediately:
Run a table knife along the sides to release the tikoy from the pan. Slice and serve as desired.
To pan fry (optional):
Cover and refrigerate overnight. This will help for slicing.
Use a greased knife to slice the tikoy into thin rectangular pieces.
Dip each piece into beaten egg, then pan fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
Note 1. This recipe can serve many portions depending on the size of your slices. The 6″ round size was more than enough for me, Elijah, and two other guests.Note 2. You can use round, square, or rectangular pans to make tikoy, so long as it fits in your steamer.
In this blog post, the brown tikoy was made using a 6″ round cake pan.
As for the white tikoy (you’ll see us pan fry this one), it was made using a rectangular Pyrex dish that measures 8x6x2″. For this pan, we doubled the recipe and the steam time was about one hour.
If you use a pan that is larger than a 6″ round, we recommend you multiply the recipe and adjust the steam time accordingly. Make sure to keep the batter thickness between 1-2″ thick, to allow it to steam evenly.
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Noelle Noriesta, a Filipino-American home cook, is the principal creator of Fork and Spoon. Her recipes have a modern and playful approach inspired by her food experiences growing up in the Bay Area and now in Los Angeles. --Read more about me