Beijing Rice Cake (Nian Gao)
Steamed glutinous rice cake layered with red bean paste or jujube, sold by weight from halal snack shops and eaten cold.
How to eat it
It is dense and very sticky. Take small bites and chew slowly, and skip it if you have trouble swallowing sticky foods. It is eaten at room temperature, not heated.
The story behind the dish
Rice cakes are eaten across China at New Year because the name sounds like "a higher year", but the Beijing version is a Hui Muslim speciality sold all year round, stacked in slabs behind the counter and cut to order. Jujube and red bean are the traditional fillings; the yellow-pea and rose versions are later additions. It belongs to the same halal snack tradition as the city's door-nail pies and copper-pot mutton.
For reference
Every kitchen does it its own way. What follows is the typical version — ingredients, heat and price shift from city to city and from one restaurant to the next, so take it as a guide rather than a fixed recipe.