The Story Behind Gao, a Chinese New Year Tradition
This sticky, chewy rice cake is one of Hawaiʻi’s most popular Lunar New Year foods.
I had a neighbor who, every January, would drop off homemade gao on my doorstep. The steamed Chinese rice cake would be topped with sesame seeds and wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. It’s not the most visually appealing dessert—a caramel-brown slab not unlike the taro-based kūlolo—but man is it delicious.
Nian gao is short for the Chinese phrase “nian nian gao sheng,” which means increasing prosperity year after year. The dish hails from southern China and was brought to Hawaiʻi by immigrants hired on to work the Islands’ sugar and rice plantations.
While gao—or gau, as it’s often spelled in the Islands—isn’t unique to Hawaiʻi, folks here put their own local spin on it. For example, we wrap the mixture of glutinous rice flour and brown sugar in ti leaves for several hours. (These days, though, people use the microwave.) And some families add shredded coconut. But the basic recipe is the same: dark brown sugar, water, rice flour and often coconut milk. (I’ve seen recipes that include ginger, allspice, vanilla and molasses.)
Like with all foods prepared and eaten during Lunar New Year, gao is packed with symbolism. The roundness refers to unity and the chewy, sticky texture from the rice flour symbolizes family bonds. It’s topped with sesame seeds, a symbol of fertility, and a red date for good luck.
While the best gao is almost always homemade, a popular—and legit—one is sold at Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery on Maunakea Street in Honolulu’s Chinatown.
