The first thing we'll want to do is prepare our red beans (7 oz).

• Soak the red beans in water (room temperature) for 6-8 hours
• Wash the beans by rinsing and massaging in water for 20-30 seconds
• Pour the beans into a pot and add cold water (2 cup)
• Bring the pot to a boil on high heat
• Once boiling, adjust to low heat and simmer for 1-2 hours.

You'll know when the beans are done when the water is fully absorbed, and the beans turn into a mush when you squeeze them with your fingers.

The red beans are totally optional but very delicious. This recipe does not change at all if you decide to skip on red beans.

When the red bean is just about ready, we'll start creating our cake batter in several bowls. Like we mentioned before, I highly recommend using / getting a food scale for this.

I don't think you necessarily need to do it this way but my dad used several bowls in the process:

• Bowl 1 - Add brown sugar (8 oz) and boiling water (6 oz), stir until the sugar has dissolved.
• Bowl 2 - Add glutinous rice flour (8 oz), regular rice flour (2 oz), coconut milk (2 tbsp) (optional), olive oil (1 tbsp)

Combine bowls 1 and 2, and stir until there are no white clumps of flour remaining. The mix should be creamy and smooth, so you may need to add splashes of water if it's not there.

Next, we'll pour in the boiled red bean, and continue stirring. My dad employs a technique where he uses his left hand to turn the bowl in the opposite direction of his stirring (right) hand.

Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes.

Fill the steamer with water, about 0.5 - 1" below where the cake pan will be sitting. Bring the steamer to a boil on high heat.

A pot designed for steaming (metal or bamboo are both fine) is the most ideal, but a wok or a pot with a lid & steamer rack works as well. The main concern is just to avoid having water splash onto the cake as the steaming occurs.

To make the cake easier to remove later, drizzle some oil on the interior of the cake pan's rim, and spread it around with your finger.

We'll also line the bottom of the pan with some parchment paper, cut to size.

Once the steamer has come to a boil, set the cake pan in the steamer, and pour the batter into the pan. Cover the steamer with its lid.

Steam the cake for 30 minutes on high heat, and 30 minutes on medium heat.

Once the time is up, we can check if it's done cooking by poking a chopstick into the cake. If the cake doesn't stick to the chopstick, then it's done.

This is all optional, but my parents like to decorate their nian gao with various toppings, each with their own endearing symbolism.

Some of these are meant for newlyweds (at the time of writing, my wife and I were recently married, and my sister recently got engaged!), and some are more general wishes of prosperity.

• red dates (hùhng jóu 红枣)
  • we wish you'll have kids soon! (jóu sāang gwai jí 早生贵子)
• walnuts (hahp tòuh 合桃)
  • a lifetime (literally, 100 years) of a happy marriage (baak nìhn hóu hahp 百年好合)
• sesame seeds (jī màh 芝麻)
  • steadily improve your life, career, studies, etc. (jī màh hōi fā jit jit gōu 芝麻开花节节髙)
  • this is analogous to how sesame plants flower, bit by bit, taller and taller.

Red dates are the most common decor (and also, the color red is a symbol of good luck), along with sesame seeds or coconut flakes.

I've also heard that some people will write out an auspicious phrase with their toppings.

Before we get to eat the cake, we need to let it cool down to room temperature, and then place it in the refrigerator overnight, ideally for at least 12 hours.

This allows the cake to harden and to be cut into slices.

It's important NOT to place it in the refrigerator immediately, as my parents warn that it can ruin your fridge.

Once the cake has cooled, carefully remove it from the cake pan, and slice them up however you'd like.

Pan-frying: optional but recommended

This is optional, but you can slice up the cake into thin 0.5" rectangular slices (see the video for an example of how my dad does this with a circular cake).

Heat up a pan with oil, and load up the pan just enough so that each individual slice is able to touch the surface of the pan. Pan fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.