"Pou-pou Gou Sing"

"Pu pu Gao Sh'ng"(in Mandarin) which literally means advancing towards a better future....that's the reason or deep meaning behind the nian gao(aka the glutinuous rice cakes) and also why it is regarded as auspicious and a must have for all families during CNY. It used to be available only during the festive season....but I think nowadays, one can easily find it in supermarkets and stores....only difference is, it comes in abundance and more attractive packages during the festive occasion.
There is also the story of the origin of this rice cakes.....as the story goes,which was told by my grandma...in each house, there's a Kitchen God who guards over the kitchen. Each year, the Kitchen Gods will have to travel to Heaven and give a yearly report to the Jade Emperor before passing on his task to the new Kitchen God. Therefore, the household residents, to ensure that their Kitchen God provide a good report to the Jade Emperor on their household condition, will prepare these glutinuous rice-cakes, and made them as sticky as possible and offer them to the Kitchen God for consumption, hoping that the sticky stuff will sort of seal his mouth after consuming it...since it is so sticky. That's what I remember from the story told....I have heard of other tales related to its origin as well.....maybe I will share them when I recall.
Anyway,whatever it may be, this auspicious has never fail to make its way to everyone's household or mouth everytime the festive occasion is around.....everyone loves it!Hehehe....Mum decided to consume it while it is fresh and since she has had the deep-fried nian gao the other day,she wants to consume it the simple way...to steam it and then coat it with coconut sultry.....
The following pics depict the snapshots of the process of preparing them...


4 pretty and auspicious glutinuous rice-cakes...or "nian-gao"....sitting on the plates...before they are to be consumed:D