How a Monster-Repelling Cake Became a Lunar New Year Staple – Gastro Obscura

International Restaurant GuidesDURING LUNAR NEW YEAR, A prosperous future belongs to those who eat their weight in luck. Diners slurp long noodles to ensure long lives and scarf down bone-in fish to swim to new fortunes. But the sweetest of these auspicious New Year dishes may be nian gao, a sticky cake eaten with the hope that the upcoming year will be more fortunate than the last.Like many symbolic Chinese dishes, nian gao comes with its own set of origin stories about warding off bad luck and overcoming hardship. Lucas Sin is a Hong Kong native and the chef at Junzi,* which has locations in New York and Connecticut. He recalls hearing the nian gao legend as a kid growing up in Hong Kong. According to the story, a giant monster named Nian would appear during the winter to prey on a village. With its sharp teeth, jagged horns, dog-like body, and a hairdo resembling a barrister’s powdered wig, Nian routinely intimidated the villagers into hiding. The villagers lived in constant fear, until a particular family hatched a plan.

Source: How a Monster-Repelling Cake Became a Lunar New Year Staple – Gastro Obscura