Chinese New Year basket cakes are sweet rice cakes made from glutinous rice flour and sugar. This cake is one of the must-have dishes during Chinese New Year. For the Chinese community, kue basket is believed to be a cake that brings good luck. Reporting from the China Highlights page, here are some unique facts about the basket cake.
1. Origin of the name
In Mandarin, basket cakes are called Nian gao or niangao ( /nyen-gao/ 'year cake'). The character means 'year', and the character means 'cake', which is pronounced the same as the written word (/gao/), meaning 'high' or 'tall'.
Thus, the pronunciation of niangao sounds like 'high year' (), which represents higher income, higher position, growth of children, and generally promises a better year in Chinese minds. Therefore, eating dumplings is considered to bring good luck during the Chinese New Year period.
2. The Legend of the Kitchen God
Basket cakes or nian gao were originally created as an offering to the Kitchen God, who is believed to reside in every home. According to legend, at the end of each year, the Kitchen God would make an "annual report" to the Jade Emperor.
To prevent the Kitchen God from saying anything bad about their home, people offer nian gao, as food to cover his mouth. Therefore, nian gao is prepared for offerings before Chinese New Year.
3. The Legend of the Foundation Bricks
Another legend about nian gao is the legend of the foundation bricks, which dates back to about 2,500 years.
According to legend, after the death of Wu Zixu (559–484 BC), a general and politician of the Wu kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period (771–476 BC), the king of Yue, Goujian, began raiding the Wu capital, and Wu's army and citizens stuck in the city and had no food which resulted in many people starving to death during the siege.
At that time, there was someone who thought of General Wu Zixu's words that said, “If the country is in trouble and the people need food, go and dig three feet under the city walls and get some food.”
Next, the soldiers did as Wu Zixu ordered and found that the foundation of the wall was built with special bricks made from glutinous rice flour.
This food saved many people from starvation. These bricks are real niangao. Every year, niangao is used to commemorate Wu Zixu. Over time, niangao is now known as a Chinese New Year cake.
4. Meaning of Basket Cake
The basic ingredients of basket cakes are glutinous rice flour. This flour has a sticky texture, which is then believed to symbolize a very close brotherhood. Meanwhile, the sweet taste of the basket cake is a symbol of joy and happiness.
In addition to the sticky texture, the cooked basket cake also feels chewy which is then symbolized as a form of persistence in life. Not only that, the basket cake which has a long shelf life symbolizes loyalty.
Those are 4 facts about basket cakes that you might not know. May be useful.
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