Chinese New Year Dessert: Sweet Rice Cake Balls with Coconut Flakes

Twas the week before Chinese New Year when all through the town, not a firecracker was popping, nor any festive mood abound........
One more week till Chinese New Year but here in South Bay Area, you don't even feel any of the CNY vibe! How depressing! I'm sure back in Malaysia, everywhere you turn, you'll be hearing this night and day. So we decided to check out the Asian market today to get in on some CNY action. D hates crowd but I was secretly hoping for a sea of people hoarding the stores and loads of buzzing activities in and around the vicinity of the strip mall where the Asian market was situated. This was what we were greeted with.


Hardly any match for the vibrant celebration that's taking place back in Malaysia, I'm sure but not too shabby a CNY festivity set-up either. We bought some food items to help liven up CNY mood in our home.

I made this special CNY dessert. It's very simple to make and rather unique since the rice cakes are steamed, then shaped into tiny round balls and rolled in coconut flakes instead of pan-fried in egg batter, the more typical and common preparation method. 

For the diligent and brave kitchen heroes with time on their hands, you can make the rice cakes from scratch but moi? I'll just fork out the USD 3 for a perfect, unburned, ready-made sticky rice cake instead of watching my gas meter tick, raking up a storm of a gas bill during the 7 to 8 hours of cooking this from scratch the traditional Malaysian way. 


Sweet Rice Cake Balls with Coconut Flakes


Ingredients:
Ready-made sticky rice cake, cut into 1/4" x 1" strips - this recipe is for ~ 10 strips; each strip makes a tiny ball (I used the plain rice cakes but you can also find flavored ones like coconut, red bean, mung bean, etc)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (even better if you can find fresh grated coconut)
1/8 tsp salt


Method:
Prepare steamer (you can use bamboo steamer or use the more rustic approach: place couple chopsticks across a wok or pot with boiling water, then balance a flat plate over the chopsticks; the sweet rice cake strips will be steamed on the flat plate)
1. Mix coconut and salt in a bowl; set aside.
2. Steam the rice cakes in steamer until soft ~ 45 minutes to an hour. Remember to monitor water levels during steaming. Do not allow it to dry out.
3. The rice cakes will be ready when it's soft and sticky to touch
4. Remove from heat. 
5. Working very quickly, use 2 teaspoons to shape each strip into balls. Immediately roll the sweet rice cake balls in the coconut-salt mixture, coating the ball evenly
6. Allow to cool and serve.