Crisp on the outside but soft, gooey and chewy on the inside, Chinese Pumpkin Cake or Nan Gua Bing is a must-make dessert in fall! If you've ever felt intimidated by the thought of making your own Asian street snacks, try this easy Chinese recipe to give you confidence! It's simple enough to make perfectly the very 1st time!
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⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- Chinese Pumpkin Cake (南瓜饼 Nan Gua Bing) is soft, chewy, sweet and delicious: The dough is sweet, smooth and perfect for mochi lovers!
- Vegan and gluten-free, it's suitable for many different diets: glutinous rice flour is naturally gluten-free, despite the name and, unlike Western desserts, many Chinese snacks don't use butter and are vegan. Moreover, pumpkin is full of Vitamin A, fiber and Beta-Carotene/ β-Carotene!
- Super simple: the basic recipe only requires 3 ingredients and it's very easy to make! This dough is much easier to work with than Western bread dough! (It's less sticky.)
Note: if you're a fan of this chewy pumpkin pancake, which is often found at Cantonese Dim Sum restaurants, you will love these matcha tea mochi muffins and these traditional Lunar New Year snacks!
🥘 Ingredients
You only need 3 simple ingredients:
- pumpkin: I like to use Japanese pumpkins as they have a more attractive golden orange color. Cut into 1 inch cubes and steam for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can substitute with unsweetened leftover pumpkin puree from making pumpkin pie (but it won't taste as good as fresh!)
- glutinous rice flour: do not replace with rice flour or all-purpose flour! They are not the same thing! The amount of glutinous rice flour will vary from my recipe depending on how moist your pumpkin is, so add the flour slowly and stop when the dough has become dry and not sticky. For more glutinous rice recipes, click here.
- sugar: you can use white granulated sugar or brown sugar.
Note: if you love pumpkin, you would enjoy these Chinese pumpkin recipes such as Asian pumpkin curry with chicken, pumpkin rice porridge and pumpkin soup with carrot.
P.S. Did you know that pumpkin is considered an auspicious dish for Chinese New Year?
📖 Variations & Substitutes
- Chinese Sweet Potato Pancake: substitute the pumpkin with sweet potato. The amount of glutinous rice flour used will vary depending on how much moisture your sweet potato contains, so add it in bit by bit. (Say ½ a Cup at a time, so you don't end up adding too much!)
- For a crispy exterior and soft interior: roll the small balls of dough in panko breadcrumbs before flattening and frying. The panko will become nice and crunchy whilst the inside stays soft and glutinous. Note that panko is not gluten-free. If you're on a GF diet, you can coat with sesame seeds before frying.
- With fillings: you can wrap the dough around red bean paste or my 2 favorites- cheese and a brown-sugar-nut filling (It's basically the same filling as hotteok!) If adding a sweet filling, reduce the amount of sugar used in the dough below.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
Steam the Pumpkin
- Cut your pumpkin into 1-inch cubes, removing the skin and seeds.
- Steam till cooked, about 10 minutes or when a fork can pierce through.
Tip: If you don't have a steamer, you can DIY by adding water to a wok then placing the pumpkin in a steam-proof bowl on a little stand in the wok (that keeps the plate elevated above the water so it's steamed not boiled!) Cover, switch on the fire and let the water come to a boil.
Alternatively, microwave till soft (about 7 minutes.)
Make Pumpkin Puree
3. If your pumpkin has tons of water, drain off the excess. (I didn't have to as mine stayed dry.)
Whilst the pumpkin is still hot, pour in the sugar and mash well. Ideally, use a potato masher or, if you don't have one, a fork works too.
Tip: the sugar should draw out some water making it easier to knead your pumpkin, but if it's still too dry, add a bit of water, starting with 1 Tablespoon.
Knead Pumpkin Dough
4. Once the pumpkin and sugar have become a homogenous orange mash, add the glutinous rice flour.
Note: Do not add all at 1 go as different pumpkins will require different amounts of flour, depending on how moist they are.
Add ¾ of the flour first, then add more as you need. Knead till the dough changes from sticky to smooth and not-sticky.
Make Pancake Shapes
5. Once the dough is smooth (see above) and there are no more flour pockets, roll into a log and divide into 12 equal portions.
6. Roll each portion into a round ball then flatten with your hand to make a pancake. Do this against a non-stick surface such as a baking tray.
Note: if adding a filling, roll the filling into a smaller ball then place in the centre of your pancake. Wrap the pancake around the filling till closed then flatten.
Optional but recommended: place a few sesame seeds in the centre of each pancake. You can also cover the pumpkin cake entirely with sesame seeds if you wish!
OPTIONAL: Coat
7. For a crispier exterior, roll the little pumpkin balls in breadcrumbs (Japanese panko is the crunchiest.)
If you can't get them to stick, brush a bit of water on the cake before rolling.
Pan Fry (or Deep Fry)
8. Heat 2-3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan on a low fire.
Pan-fry for 3-5 minutes per side or till golden brown (don't let it burn!)
Flip and brown the other side. Plate and serve. Best eaten hot!
Note: You may want to place cooked pumpkin cakes on a kitchen towel to drain off excess oil but note that uncoated ones will stick a little to the paper.
🥡 How to Store
All glutinous rice flour snacks, such as tang yuan and muah chee, taste best when hot. Once cooled, the dough becomes hard and less palatable. I don't recommend eating this cold!
To reheat, pan-fry again or pop in the microwave or oven.
Reheating
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: Don't skimp on the oil! I pan fry (instead of deep frying) to make this traditional Chinese snack healthier, but you still need a decent amount of oil, or the pumpkin cake will end up sticking to the pan.
Tip #2: If you want a crispier pumpkin pancake, go the traditional route and deep fry. The oil is hot enough when you insert a wooden chopstick into the oil and see small bubbles form. Carefully place the small cakes in the oil, 1 at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pot! The oil is super hot so make sure it doesn't splash onto you. Some people even like to double fry for a super crunchy skin, with the 2nd fry being about 15 seconds.
💭 Recipe FAQs
Not if you want to keep the traditional chewy consistency of this pumpkin pancake! If you find it too chewy as is- it has a tendency to stick to the teeth!- you can add some regular white flour (about 2 ounces for the recipe below) to make the dough less sticky. The dough will also need to be proofed for 20 minutes before rolling and frying. (However, I personally find this version less tasty!)
🥗 Other Chewy Glutinous Recipes
Enjoyed this easy Chinese Pumpkin Cake Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this traditional Asian dessert, please consider supporting it by buying me a coffee! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
Chinese Pumpkin Cake
Equipment
- steamer Substitute: you can steam in a wok or use a microwave or instant pot
- Potato Masher or Fork
- Sauce pan
- Kitchen towels To drain excess oil later
Ingredients
- 0.55 lb Pumpkin Flesh only, cut into 1 inch cubes. Weight is before steaming (your pumpkin will lose some weight after steaming!)
- 0.55 lb Glutinous Rice Flour Substitute: Mochiko flour or sweet rice flour. Do not use allpurpose or regular rice flour.
- 2.12 oz white sugar Alternative: brown sugar
- Vegetable oil with high smoke point Don't skimp on the oil even if pan frying, or your pancake will stick to then pan and turn black.
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds Optional. This is just for a centre garnish. If you want to coat the entire pumpkin cake, you'll need more, about ½ Cup. You can also coat with ⅓ Cup Japanese panko breadcrumbs for a crispier skin.
Instructions
- Cut your pumpkin into 1-inch cubes, removing the skin and seeds.
- Steam the pumpkin cubes till cooked, about 10 minutes or when a fork can pierce through. (If you don't have a steamer, see the post above for how to create a makeshift set-up.)
- If your pumpkin has tons of water, drain off the excess. (I didn't have to as mine stayed dry.)
- Whilst the pumpkin is still hot, pour in the sugar and mash well. Ideally, use a potato masher or, if you don't have one, a fork works too.Tip: the sugar should draw out some water making it easier to knead your pumpkin, but if it's still too dry, add a bit of water, starting with 1 Tablespoon.
- Once the pumpkin and sugar have become a homogenous orange mash, add the glutinous rice flour. Do not add all at 1 go as different pumpkins will require different amounts of flour, depending on how moist they are.
- Add ¾ of the flour first, then add more as you need. Knead till the dough changes from sticky to smooth and not-sticky.
- Once the dough is smooth (see above) and there are no more flour pockets, roll into a log and divide into 12 equal portions.
- Roll each portion into a round ball then flatten with your hand to make a pancake. Do this against a non-stick surface such as a baking tray.Note: if adding a filling, roll the filling into a smaller ball then place in the centre of your pancake. Wrap the pancake around the filling till closed then flatten.
- Optional garnish: place a few sesame seeds in the centre of each pancake. You can also cover the pumpkin cake entirely with sesame seeds or panko breadcrumbs for more crunch! (You may need to brush the pancake with a light coat of water to get them to stick.)
Frying
- Heat 2-3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan on a low fire.
- Pan-fry for 3-5 minutes per side or till golden brown (don't let it burn!) Flip and brown the other side.
- Plate and serve. Best eaten hot!Note: You may want to place cooked pumpkin cakes on a kitchen towel to drain off excess oil but note that uncoated ones will stick a little to the paper.
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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Ivy says
Hi! Came across this recipe as I was trying to figure out what to do with some leftover glutinous rice flour. recipe looks great! Quick question: do you think I could bake these? We have small children so batch cooking is wayyy easier than standing over a pan frying 🙂 thanks!
Zen says
Hmm good question Ivy (thanks for stopping by!) I've never tested them baked and I suspect they may be easily become a bit dry/ tough as there's no liquid. (You could stir in some oil and milk, but I won't be able to advise on the quantity withotu testing.) If you're trying to use up leftover glutinous rice flour, why not try the (baked) mochi muffin recipes? I have black sesame, matcha flavors etc! Here are the links: https://www.greedygirlgourmet.com/black-sesame-mochi-cupcake-no-mixer/ https://www.greedygirlgourmet.com/easy-matcha-mochi-muffin-recipe-gf-dessert/ https://www.greedygirlgourmet.com/chinese-new-year-cake-nian-gao/ Good luck and hope you enjoy them!
Julieann says
Is it possible to make the dough pancakes ahead of time and put them in the fridge until I am ready to fry them ?
Zen says
Hi Julieann, thanks for stopping by! I've never tried it with frozen dough and would be slightly concerned about potential ice crystals on the dough "exploding" in the pan (on contact with the hot oil) but I will do some testing and get back to you!
Michelle says
Can I use pumpkin purée ?
Zen says
Hi Michelle, thanks for stopping by! If it's pure pumpkin puree (unsweetened, no added spices etc), yes you can. (However, you may have to slightly adjust the amount of glutinous rice flour added- you want it to feel like a dough and not see any unmixed in flour or feel too wet.) Hope you enjoy the pumpkin cake!
Dorene chew says
Pumpkin is one of my favorites. Your tips on storage are of a great help to me as I can’t cook and ashamed to
say that I depend greatly on my domestic help.
Cara says
I was scarred by bread making. Can’t believe how easy this dough was to work with and how delicious the pumpkin cake was!
Zen says
So glad you liked this pumpkin Chinese cake, Cara, it's so easy and tasty, isn't it?!