The Chinese New Year sticky rice cake also called Chinese New Year pudding is niangao, also written nian gao. It is made primarily from glutinous rice flour and is especially popular during the New Year season.
The name carries an auspicious pun. 年糕, meaning “year cake,” sounds like 年高, meaning “higher year” or “growing higher.” That association links niangao with rising prosperity, success, and improvement year after year. It is therefore commonly served or given as a festive gift.
Recipes differ widely by region. Sweet Cantonese niangao is often made with brown sugar, steamed until firm, sliced, and pan-fried, sometimes after dipping in egg. Other varieties may be white, savory, mixed with ordinary rice, or shaped with decorative symbols.
Niangao is not zongzi, which is glutinous rice wrapped in leaves, nor tangyuan, which consists of rice-flour balls. In the Philippines it is widely known as tikoy, reflecting the cake’s spread through Chinese maritime communities.