Nian gao. We eat similar cakes in the Philippines- stick so all the good luck sticks to you, and your Family sticks together. ❤️ That cat song...although does stick in your head. 😂
@@TastingHistory Such a young and vibrant 25! Obviously meant year of the pig in 1995 and not 1983 (looks in mirror of my year of the pig birth year) Yeah... 95 not 83.
As a linguist, I must say I’m always impressed with your pronunciation of words from different languages. Even if it’s not 100% native, it really shows dedication to your content. Love the channel!
I came here to say this! I’m also a linguist so I really appreciate that Max takes time to learn pronunciation for non-English names and words. As a voice actor, he probably has some training in phonetics/ipa but learning a tonal language and all of those extra affricates as an English speaker is not easy!
I'm from southern china, our sticky rice cakes are round and flavored with brown sugar. They are made by steaming, but when we eat, we cut them into slices and pan fry them, this way they form a thin crust but stay hot and sticky in the inside.
Taiwanese here. The uncooked sticky rice cake is literally as hard as a brick. But when you slice it (around a half inch) & deep fry it with batter, it just become a sweet, al dente starchy goodness with a golden crispy crust. So hard to describe. IT IS SOOOOOO GOOD. Good pronunciation Good research Thumbs up
mmm - sounds so much better than the steamed cake. this i would try :) i do hope they have it somewhere in China Town (NYC) (that is, if i get the nerve to venture out in a Hazmat suit :) maybe next year. . 🐼
@@feralbluee They probably do have these in Chinatown, since they're really quite popular here in China. I think the type that Cliff was talking about often comes in large round blocks, kind of like cheese. You can slice the blocks up real thin, like half a centimeter. coat them in egg batter and fry them. Delicious.
"And Rat 'conveniently' forgot". my first chinese teacher taught us that Rat rode on Cat's back to cross the river and drowned Cat. im just now learning about the nice version where Rat is just rude and not a murderer, and i like this version a lot more. the vietnamese zodiac has a cat, though - it replaces the rabbit. nice job on the pronunciation, too!
@@rosemali3022 same as the rabbit, 1976. If you're born in jan or feb, you may be a dragon b/c its using a lunar calendar & New Years shifts around on the gregorian calendar.
@@omegabet3912 My mother makes that soup dish with the glutinous rice balls with a bit of rock sugar inside. I'm not too fond of those because they taste like raw gummy rice flour dough. At the end of lunch, any leftover scraps of food are tossed into the food waste disposal. So a few of those rice balls ended up in the disposal. After ten seconds of grinding, most of the waste food went out the drain. but those damn rice balls stayed INTACT!
Funnily enough. it was common Greek philosophy sentiment that beauty and morality were linked! Plato and Aristotle, for example, both believed that if you were beautiful, then it was one metric judging that you were a good person, and vice versa.
it is an overdub - he always cuts away from his face when he says the word. That said, most people wouldn't even bother to learn how to say it right - so
Were you expecting something closer to mochi, Max? Most non-Asian I've seen eat it for the first time have stated they expected a mochi-like texture (same main ingredient, after all), but nian gao is much much stickier due to the steaming process. Mochi is also generally ate at a much lower temperature than nian gao and dusted with cornflour, which helps significantly in cutting the stickiness. I personally prefer nian gao out of the two treats-- I prefer the warmer and simpler flavor palate, even if the chewing is a small exercise montage.
Oh man if you loved the nian gao pun, you're gonna love all the other food puns we've got for lunar new years 😂 Some of the classics are fish for the saying "nian nian you yü" ("every year gain wealth" where "yü" sounds like both "wealth" and "fish") and fa gao (a steamed puffy cake; "fa" meaning "growing" and "gao" meaning both "higher" and "cake", like with the nian gao)!
I think... I think I just understood one of obscure references/jokes in Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment. 'And the New Year was a great big fish'. (Which apparently is some kind of pun in the original Borogravian.)
@@Teverell oh snap, i love monstrous regiment, and that would make sense. Sir Terry was such a smart dude. His breadth of knowledge was huge, and i wouldn’t be surprised if he knew about that pun, or pune, as some would call it 😄
"His appearance matches exactly what I detest most in a man." This is going to be my new standard reply whenever my parents ask why I don't date this and that guy! 😂
Y'know I'm a person of Chinese descent who have been living in Taiwan for the past few years but I never really bothered to find out the myths behind the Chinese New Year. So here's to you, white guy who taught me my people's history!
@@fatchins9126 well strictly ethnically speaking, yes. But I was born as a 5th generation Chinese...immigrant? And I grew up in an environment quite far removed from Chinese culture and tradition. So no, I don't consider myself fully Chinese in that respect. Most of what I know about Chinese history and culture I learned from movies and youtube videos lol.
@@fatchins9126 I'm first generation and mixed. Not Taiwanese though, as I understand it that is in flux. I see it almost like Palestine. Not as many bombs but the same energy. And that has nothing to do with the/ your people. Governments aren't good and they go against the people constantly. (Byw workers should own the means of production, aka own what you produce).
So much this! It irks me as a non-american that whenever there's a word or name that's anything but English, most RUclipsrs just go "oh lol, I'm probably gonna butcher this pronunciation, soz guise!" Even if it's like German or French. Lazy.
It definitely speaks to what a quality person Max is. It's actually a form of oppression that many people don't bother to learn how to say names from another culture, and just say "oh I can't pronounce that" when they didn't try, or even think they should try. You see it everyday, with people who feel they need to have a "western" name to go by when they move away from their home country, and often they will name their kids with "western" names.
He's one of the few to be sure. But, you know, i would say that when you find someone who does, it often is a sign that they do their research in general and are a rare trustworthy source of information.
@@celticlass8573 As an immigrant whose name gets mispronounced by the locals all the time: calling that oppression is insulting to people who face actual oppression.
The amount of effort it takes to even _parrot_ Chinese pronunciation accurately for a non-Chinese is always noted. Any strictly structured tonal language, you can practice saying one word for 5 minutes and still be wrong. To rattle off several in the same breath and not speak the language is actually blowing my mind. Great work, Max.
The struggle to make 年糕 is real which is why most people just buy it from the supermarket or order ahead from Chinese restaurants in the run up to the new year.
@@Angels-3xist Most definitely, I spent a lot of time in China and currently living in Singapore and not many people make 年糕 from scratch, very few most of the older generation, because it's so time-consuming to make.
Ture. In fact Nian Gao is so notoriously finicky that even the professionals have superstitions around it, eg not speaking bad words while making it and not letting women on their period in the kitchen. Or the Nian Gao will turn out bad.
@@marcheck3400 : Probably one of those things where humidity, air pressure, and moisture content of the rice all have an effect. Maybe even the starch and/or protein content of the rice, too.
@@WMDistraction red bean is like chocolate for chinese desserts. along with lotus paste. and there's a poem to go with it, basically describing it as a bean of longing. Red bean gets better as it gets stewed in the red bean soup, and the more broken down it is, the better (some people put dried orange peel to it, adds a little fragrance to it), but the thing is, red bean is definitely associated with romance in chinese culture, or a good sweet soup dessert, next to tangyuan, or the dumpling made in another previous episode in this channel. Tangyuan is associated with unity, while red bean is associated with longingness. Either way, brings a little sweetness to end a meal with friends.
@@WMDistraction sorry to say that but you will wonder even more in Japan (and missed a lot of chances to try their traditional desert). They’re even more fanatic about red bean than the Chinese they basically have red bean flavors for every sweet dish possible. They even adapt western bread & invent the “red-bean bun” flavor 😂😂 It’s one of the most popular bread entry in Japan only *curry bun* & *fried-noodle bun” can ever rival it. And us Taiwanese adopt it as well we now almost have red-bean bun in every bread bakery possible 👍
Taiwanese also have Nian Gao mostly in red bean kind (us obviously being majorly tied to Southern Chinese culture, though personally my grandparents are from the north who came with Chiang Kai Shek ), so I guess nowadays red bean is the staple flavor for general folks , ... dates or chestnut I thk I’ve seen their version somewhere, probably made by fancy restaurants or something, definitely at a higher price than red bean for sure 😂😂 Not too surprising people who’s capable of writing it down for Max to discover, is most definitely a noble or high ranked official in ancient time their version of Nian Gao is no doubt the up scale version ~
I am impressed by your remembering to mention the help you get from other folks. Interpreters, historians, and other cooks, they all get kudos. Makes YOU look good, and very professional. Aside from the great presentation, of course. yeah!
The Year of the Pig is a fortuitious year to be born in, because people born in the Year of the Pig are thought to be intelligent, clean, hard working, and good with money and have refined tastes especially in regards to food and wine...sounds like you, Max. Your fiancee is a fortunate man!
@@dimsum81 pigs in their natural habitat are very clean, and will actually bathe if they have acess to water, because it helps them keep cool. Their reputation for being dirty comes from being kept in pens and forced to wallow in their own excrement...and like most omnivores (including humans) their poop stinks!
I always appreciate when you say, "I tried this, according to the old recipe and... it didn't work out," because how many of us try to follow a recipe to the last period and the result didn't look like the pictures? Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.
Fun fact: the character for luck "fu, 福" often written on Chinese paper lanterns, is hung upside down at many homes and businesses at new year, so one can say "fu dao le 福倒了," meaning "luck got turned upside down" which sounds identical to "luck has arrived" or "fu dao le 福到了" (even tones are the same and you can see the characters look similar)
Ok I'm ABC and my Mandarin is really crappy so I could be wrong- but aren't the tones actually different here? "Upside down" should be dao3, and "arrived" should be dao4, right?
@@its_clean there's two "dao" that are associated with upside down, dao3 which more closely translates to "fall down" and dao4 which is more accurately "reverse/upside down" so the one here should actually be dao4
Interesting. Canadian here, and I would imagine 'Luck' written upside down would be inviting a lack of it. Like western superstition of the horseshoe over the doorway; hanging it right side up so it looks like a U catches the luck, while an upside down horseshoe suggests luck running out.
My Mom buy this cake every lunar year. We're not of Chinese. But Mom grew up in a neighbourhood with 50% Chinese people. So she likes to taste her childhood around this time of year.
I love how you not only do European recipes, but you also look at history of different cultures around the world. Maybe you should try Polynesian recipes from anthropologist records? I dunno
I would LOVE to see max cook in an imu but also I'd rather he find nesian recipes from actual islanders (which I'm sure is the approach hed take) and not biased western sources
You have blossomed into a foodie anthropologist and tour guide. This is immensely entertaining and very educational. Jose and your eminence are putting Food Network and all those stuffy networks to shame. Great work guys...and I do mean work. Your research is astonishing. I thought I knew some stuff. You folks really go the extra 10 miles!!!! Thank You!
A non sweet version of Nian Gao with just glutinous rice is also made and cut into thin pieces. These pieces are boiled and then stir fried like noodles and are eaten year round. The Nian Gao in this episode is also the precursor to the Japanese Mochi.
A staple for any Chinese household during the Lunar New Year holidays! My favorite are ones with coconut milk mixed in, the texture is softer and more "marshmallowey" so it's friendlier on the jaws 😋
Fun fact: here in the Philippines, we call nian gao "tikoy" and it comes in a lot of flavors apart from sugar and molasses. I've seen strawberry, ube and pandan lately. We usually slice them into rectangles, coat them in egg and pan fry them. My personal favorite is wrapping slices in spring roll wrapper, fry them and drizzle condensed milk over it.
Max and Jose picking out a wedding cake; wedding planner: here we have a lovely 3 tier cake Max: you know, wedding cakes originated (starts rattling off trivia) Jose: (to the planner) now you 've gone and done it!
Ha! Reminds me of the character of Detective Arthur Dietrich on the TV show Barney Miller. He was always dropping tidbits of arcane information into conversations, no matter what the subject. But Max is so much cuter.
If you had asked me a year ago what I would be doing now, probably "watching a Disney prince cooking Nian gao and talking about history" would have never crossed my mind
Your super-authentic pronounciations of Chinese words, names and terms was not only really cool but has me suddenly mulling over the idea of trying to learn the language myself. It's been vaguely on my brain for awhile but something about seeing a guy I like and respect on youtube going way out of his way to 'do it right' by the language instead of just the usual "apologies for butchering this" has made me all hyped up about the idea.
The pan-fried method with the egg crust is really good for combating the stick factor! Also the thin slices really help! My family is from Southern China and it’s the way my mum has been making it for us every year :D
I am the Year of the Boar too - a wood boar and my mom is a dragon. My late husband was a rabbit; my mom told me we were very compatible. She was right, we were together 28 yrs when he passed from cancer. My mom is Hawaiian and Chinese, so I grew up eating ngin gau - we just called it gau back home in Hawaiʻi. Gau is sold in every grocery store in Hawaiʻi during Chinese New Year. We line the mold with ti leaf and we only use jujubes and sesame seeds in our gau. My family are from Guangdong province and belong to the Hakka minority group. I still crave my grandfatherʻs sisterʻs gau from when I was a kid. Aunty Babeʻs gau was always sticky. She said we ate it "so the family sticks together in the New Year. " Kung Hee Fat Choy to you and Jose!
I really just can't get enough of you ! Your knowledge mixed with all kinds of humor...Umph, Genius ! ( That jujube queen photo slip in... hysterical ! ) Thanks for all the hard work you guys do 😀
Thank you for sharing this. Our Nian Gao in Singapore and Malaysia is also sticky and sweet! Also spot on for explaining the puns. Almost all the dishes we eat during Chinese New Year have names based on word plays that denote various things like success, prosperity or hopes for good fortune.
I’m also very impressed how close you were when pronouncing the sound lü, when I was learning Chinese that was easily one of the hardest sounds for us English speakers to make and we were speaking it every day, not just once for a RUclips video 👏
I really appreciate how much effort Max puts into his pronunciations. Sometimes it's so hard a shift in gears it feels like an automated message. That's a compliment!
Honestly im both embarassed for how long it took me to realize Max has a husband-to-be (ive watched this channel for the past two months and just subscribed to ketchup a week ago) and im also super excited for him and José (sorry if i spelt it wrong) are engaged! Congrats you two!
"How practical, a snack you can panel your den with!" (props to the first person to get that reference) And how amazing is it that you were able to pronounce Zixu's name with the exact same tone and inflection every single time you say it... funny, that.
Shanghainese person here. Despite our city's fame for sweet foods (well, sweet by Chinese standards), we often eat our niangao savory. You can buy them pre-cut into little discs and frozen from the grocery. They can be used in soups or a stir fry, a practice that is also common in Korea and Japan. For the stir fry, you stir fry some meat and mushrooms in a pot with some soy sauce, then put nappa cabbage on top, add salt, then put the frozen nian gao on top. A lot of water comes out of these ingredients, so you then shut the lid and let it steam until the niangao is soft, lightly mix, and then it's ready to eat.
Kinda sad I never knew them till I stumbled on them on CNY abroad. Either Jakarta is too focused on moon cakes or I’m just uninitiated since I’m not Chinese lol
My family does it dipped in egg and fried. Another way is we cut the rice cake up into smaller bite-sized pieces and stir-fry them with cut-up sausages, bacon and veggies. We usually eat it for breakfast.
Legend also has it that Wu Zixu's last words before committing suicide were 'dig my eyes out and hang them by the city gates, as I want to be watching when we're invaded by the Yue'. So yeah, between that and the corpse whipping... Some character he is. And when that ultimately happened, King Fuchai of Wu committed suicide as well. Before dying, he covered his face with a white cloth as he was too embarrassed to face Wu Zixu in the afterlife. To this day, Wu Zixu is venerated in the land where the Kingdom of Wu used to stand (modern day Suzhou, which happens to be my hometown haha). One of the city gates is named after him (胥门).
"Billy, don't be a hero." - You leveled me again on that one and I had to rewind the video again because of the giggles. The history on this one was beyond fascinating!
My favorite is making a layered version of this and steaming it directly in my rice cooker haha. I usually layer it with cooked sweet red bean, honey jujube, walnuts, gojiberries, and honey/brown sugar. Loooove it and it's healthy as a dessert or snack!
This may be the best episode yet. Fascinating history, tasty treats, a shout out to "Billy, don't lose that number", and some epic Mariah Carey shade. What more could you want?
I’m an Ox and a Taurus Happy year of the Cat to any Vietnamese celebrating Lunar New Year, was in Ho Chi Minh last night for imthe first day, though I didn’t do much. Hope everyone celebrating their Lunar New Year has a blast.
Actually, we knew perfectly clear it was gonna be hella sticky when we first started eating sticky glutenous rice - that's why they figured out they could even do this sticky rice cake thing. Putting sticky rice dishes onto lightly oiled leaves is a common way to package and preserve them. It's easy to portion and transport too! Nowadays you see them in plastic wraps more, though some dishes will still have big leaves wrapping them, like zhongzi.
Important question, nyan cat or nian gao? 🤔
Nian gao. We eat similar cakes in the Philippines- stick so all the good luck sticks to you, and your Family sticks together. ❤️
That cat song...although does stick in your head. 😂
Nian cat?
What's "nyan cat"? Is that something different, or the same thing as nian gao but transliterated from a different dialect?
nyan mao or nian gao? or maybe nian gou...
@@OptimusWombat Nyan cat was a meme and song.
"im a pig, as is my chinese zodiac sign" already dropped a like
Better a pig than a boar...
@@Mark723 I saw what you did! ;p
🤣 thank you
@@TastingHistory Such a young and vibrant 25!
Obviously meant year of the pig in 1995 and not 1983 (looks in mirror of my year of the pig birth year) Yeah... 95 not 83.
@@Mark723 nice one!
Hugely respect that you got one successful take of saying 'Zixu' and just cut that audio in every time. Thats big brain thinking babeyyy
Work smarter not harder 🙌
Max is obviously a man of efficacy.
Dude what? That was super weird sounding and obvious xD
@@Serjo777 i mean...better than people tearing him to shreds for daring to mispronounce a language he doesn't speak.
It was SO distracting. I'd rather he just mispronounce it.
As a linguist, I must say I’m always impressed with your pronunciation of words from different languages. Even if it’s not 100% native, it really shows dedication to your content. Love the channel!
I came here to say this! I’m also a linguist so I really appreciate that Max takes time to learn pronunciation for non-English names and words. As a voice actor, he probably has some training in phonetics/ipa but learning a tonal language and all of those extra affricates as an English speaker is not easy!
@@jules32391 I’m not actively working in the field currently, so I justify my education solely through RUclips comments now lol
@@caseyrogers573 I do work in the field..... just not as the “spectrogram in a lab” cool kind....so same 🤣
I agree!
@@jules32391 he's a voice actor?
I'm from southern china, our sticky rice cakes are round and flavored with brown sugar. They are made by steaming, but when we eat, we cut them into slices and pan fry them, this way they form a thin crust but stay hot and sticky in the inside.
Thats sounds good.
Oh, my!
Sandwich the 年糕 in-between two slices of taro or sweet potato, dip in tempura batter and fry. That’s how it’s eaten in Singapore.
@@jeremychoo934 thats sounds even better!
Brown sugar sounds so good with nian gao. Super good stuff!
Taiwanese here.
The uncooked sticky rice cake is literally as hard as a brick.
But when you slice it (around a half inch) & deep fry it with batter, it just become a sweet, al dente starchy goodness with a golden crispy crust.
So hard to describe.
IT IS SOOOOOO GOOD.
Good pronunciation
Good research
Thumbs up
Thank you!
That sounds amazing
Sounds like EXTRA dirty food porn. STOP YOUR FOOLISH TEMPTATIONS ! 😋😁😄
mmm - sounds so much better than the steamed cake. this i would try :) i do hope they have it somewhere in China Town (NYC) (that is, if i get the nerve to venture out in a Hazmat suit :) maybe next year. . 🐼
@@feralbluee They probably do have these in Chinatown, since they're really quite popular here in China. I think the type that Cliff was talking about often comes in large round blocks, kind of like cheese. You can slice the blocks up real thin, like half a centimeter. coat them in egg batter and fry them. Delicious.
"And Rat 'conveniently' forgot". my first chinese teacher taught us that Rat rode on Cat's back to cross the river and drowned Cat. im just now learning about the nice version where Rat is just rude and not a murderer, and i like this version a lot more. the vietnamese zodiac has a cat, though - it replaces the rabbit. nice job on the pronunciation, too!
Oh wow, never heard that version. That's a pretty big difference.
Nice to hear cat got its place somewhere!
What year is cat on the 90s?
@@rosemali3022 same as the rabbit, 1976. If you're born in jan or feb, you may be a dragon b/c its using a lunar calendar & New Years shifts around on the gregorian calendar.
Wait no we do have the rabbit and cat in the Vietnamese one
Being a cat makes me happier then being a rabbit. Thanks! : )
Max: It's so sticky.. This is not a chopsticks food.
Me, Chinese, sitting at my desk, chomping on some nian gao with a fork: lmao yeah
It's one week later. Are you still chewing?
@@RaymondHng No but I think some of it got stuck between my teeth
@@omegabet3912 My mother makes that soup dish with the glutinous rice balls with a bit of rock sugar inside. I'm not too fond of those because they taste like raw gummy rice flour dough. At the end of lunch, any leftover scraps of food are tossed into the food waste disposal. So a few of those rice balls ended up in the disposal. After ten seconds of grinding, most of the waste food went out the drain. but those damn rice balls stayed INTACT!
@@RaymondHng YIKES THAT'S A MOOD
How did you learn chopsticks? For me it was literally self defense.
"If the people are starving, dig around the city walls" is my new "there's always money in the banana stand".
Instructions unclear burned down banana stand lol
Classic😅
EXACTLY my thought hahaha
I mean it's one banana, what could it cost? 10 dls
Might be a dumb question, but what is the meaning of these sayings?
"Ugly people don't deserve justice."
- Prince of Wu
Kuzco energy
Nicki Minaj energy
@@L0rdOfThePies Lolololol, so true. That really does sound like something he'd say.
Funnily enough. it was common Greek philosophy sentiment that beauty and morality were linked! Plato and Aristotle, for example, both believed that if you were beautiful, then it was one metric judging that you were a good person, and vice versa.
@@ddd8828so many beautiful woman n hansem men are so bad natured and arrogant! If by "ugly" is meant the character n conduct then True
The way he flawlessly switches between Latin and English (and apparently Chinese now) is very impressive lol
it is an overdub - he always cuts away from his face when he says the word.
That said, most people wouldn't even bother to learn how to say it right - so
The magic of editing can make anyone appear to be polylingual, but it still requires significant effort do as well as Max does.
@@jacoblabach4970 I wondered who else was catching that. Good stuff though!
The rising panic/regret in Max's eyes as he realizes just how long he's gonna be chewing this one....Priceless.
🤣 it was unexpected
Imagine having to cook the modern version in all its sticky glory. You can almost taste the fork you ate it with 🤣🤣🤣
Were you expecting something closer to mochi, Max? Most non-Asian I've seen eat it for the first time have stated they expected a mochi-like texture (same main ingredient, after all), but nian gao is much much stickier due to the steaming process. Mochi is also generally ate at a much lower temperature than nian gao and dusted with cornflour, which helps significantly in cutting the stickiness.
I personally prefer nian gao out of the two treats-- I prefer the warmer and simpler flavor palate, even if the chewing is a small exercise montage.
I know, my fillings were crying 😂
@@TastingHistory it was a very big bite for something so chewy
Oh man if you loved the nian gao pun, you're gonna love all the other food puns we've got for lunar new years 😂 Some of the classics are fish for the saying "nian nian you yü" ("every year gain wealth" where "yü" sounds like both "wealth" and "fish") and fa gao (a steamed puffy cake; "fa" meaning "growing" and "gao" meaning both "higher" and "cake", like with the nian gao)!
That's awesome :D
I think... I think I just understood one of obscure references/jokes in Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment. 'And the New Year was a great big fish'. (Which apparently is some kind of pun in the original Borogravian.)
@@Teverell oh snap, i love monstrous regiment, and that would make sense. Sir Terry was such a smart dude. His breadth of knowledge was huge, and i wouldn’t be surprised if he knew about that pun, or pune, as some would call it 😄
"His appearance matches exactly what I detest most in a man." This is going to be my new standard reply whenever my parents ask why I don't date this and that guy! 😂
LOL
Mood
Good for you. :-D
😂
It sounds like a Facebook tag group
Dang, imagine having a fiance so supportive of you and your hobby they make a youtube channel interviewing you about it.
It’s pretty awesome
Never even seen Jose and yet I still have couple envy.
Its adorable channel too. Really friendly atmosphere @ketchupwithmax
Jose is goals.
I was just about to comment on that, it's so sweet :D
The red shirt was a nice touch (symbol of good luck/prosperity for the new year).
His pokemon in the background is tauros, one named after the zodiac
Y'know I'm a person of Chinese descent who have been living in Taiwan for the past few years but I never really bothered to find out the myths behind the Chinese New Year. So here's to you, white guy who taught me my people's history!
Chinese descent
Living in Taiwan
So a Chinese living in real China
@@fatchins9126 well strictly ethnically speaking, yes. But I was born as a 5th generation Chinese...immigrant? And I grew up in an environment quite far removed from Chinese culture and tradition. So no, I don't consider myself fully Chinese in that respect. Most of what I know about Chinese history and culture I learned from movies and youtube videos lol.
@@kevinevano4497 well then
@@fatchins9126 I'm first generation and mixed. Not Taiwanese though, as I understand it that is in flux. I see it almost like Palestine. Not as many bombs but the same energy.
And that has nothing to do with the/ your people. Governments aren't good and they go against the people constantly. (Byw workers should own the means of production, aka own what you produce).
@@charlietian2074 It's not even bait tbh. Both sides regard Taiwan as rightful Chinese clay.
You're probably the only youtuber that bothers with researching pronunciation and I really appreciate that.
So much this! It irks me as a non-american that whenever there's a word or name that's anything but English, most RUclipsrs just go "oh lol, I'm probably gonna butcher this pronunciation, soz guise!" Even if it's like German or French. Lazy.
@@janisuutarinen1715 even when they use English they still butcher words. I almost like they type more than they speak to people.
It definitely speaks to what a quality person Max is. It's actually a form of oppression that many people don't bother to learn how to say names from another culture, and just say "oh I can't pronounce that" when they didn't try, or even think they should try. You see it everyday, with people who feel they need to have a "western" name to go by when they move away from their home country, and often they will name their kids with "western" names.
He's one of the few to be sure. But, you know, i would say that when you find someone who does, it often is a sign that they do their research in general and are a rare trustworthy source of information.
@@celticlass8573 As an immigrant whose name gets mispronounced by the locals all the time: calling that oppression is insulting to people who face actual oppression.
The amount of effort it takes to even _parrot_ Chinese pronunciation accurately for a non-Chinese is always noted. Any strictly structured tonal language, you can practice saying one word for 5 minutes and still be wrong.
To rattle off several in the same breath and not speak the language is actually blowing my mind.
Great work, Max.
The struggle to make 年糕 is real which is why most people just buy it from the supermarket or order ahead from Chinese restaurants in the run up to the new year.
I have never had a homemade 年糕 in my life. 😂😭
The amount of effort he puts in is astronomical. He might be a bit too humble about it.
@@Angels-3xist Most definitely, I spent a lot of time in China and currently living in Singapore and not many people make 年糕 from scratch, very few most of the older generation, because it's so time-consuming to make.
Ture. In fact Nian Gao is so notoriously finicky that even the professionals have superstitions around it, eg not speaking bad words while making it and not letting women on their period in the kitchen. Or the Nian Gao will turn out bad.
@@marcheck3400 : Probably one of those things where humidity, air pressure, and moisture content of the rice all have an effect.
Maybe even the starch and/or protein content of the rice, too.
I’m from Northern China, our Niangao is made with cooked red beans instead of dates or chestnut. This video made me miss my hometown. 👍
I live in China and am married to a Chinese woman. I do not understand red beans and probably never will. Why is it in everything?!
The pandemic really made things hard, for all of us.....
@@WMDistraction red bean is like chocolate for chinese desserts. along with lotus paste. and there's a poem to go with it, basically describing it as a bean of longing. Red bean gets better as it gets stewed in the red bean soup, and the more broken down it is, the better (some people put dried orange peel to it, adds a little fragrance to it), but the thing is, red bean is definitely associated with romance in chinese culture, or a good sweet soup dessert, next to tangyuan, or the dumpling made in another previous episode in this channel. Tangyuan is associated with unity, while red bean is associated with longingness. Either way, brings a little sweetness to end a meal with friends.
@@WMDistraction sorry to say that but you will wonder even more in Japan (and missed a lot of chances to try their traditional desert). They’re even more fanatic about red bean than the Chinese they basically have red bean flavors for every sweet dish possible. They even adapt western bread & invent the “red-bean bun” flavor 😂😂 It’s one of the most popular bread entry in Japan only *curry bun* & *fried-noodle bun” can ever rival it. And us Taiwanese adopt it as well we now almost have red-bean bun in every bread bakery possible 👍
Taiwanese also have Nian Gao mostly in red bean kind (us obviously being majorly tied to Southern Chinese culture, though personally my grandparents are from the north who came with Chiang Kai Shek ), so I guess nowadays red bean is the staple flavor for general folks , ... dates or chestnut I thk I’ve seen their version somewhere, probably made by fancy restaurants or something, definitely at a higher price than red bean for sure 😂😂 Not too surprising people who’s capable of writing it down for Max to discover, is most definitely a noble or high ranked official in ancient time their version of Nian Gao is no doubt the up scale version ~
I am impressed by your remembering to mention the help you get from other folks. Interpreters, historians, and other cooks, they all get kudos. Makes YOU look good, and very professional. Aside from the great presentation, of course. yeah!
The Year of the Pig is a fortuitious year to be born in, because people born in the Year of the Pig are thought to be intelligent, clean, hard working, and good with money and have refined tastes especially in regards to food and wine...sounds like you, Max. Your fiancee is a fortunate man!
I’m no farmer, but somehow I’m skeptical of “pig” and “clean” in the same sentence
@@dimsum81 pigs in their natural habitat are very clean, and will actually bathe if they have acess to water, because it helps them keep cool. Their reputation for being dirty comes from being kept in pens and forced to wallow in their own excrement...and like most omnivores (including humans) their poop stinks!
I always appreciate when you say, "I tried this, according to the old recipe and... it didn't work out," because how many of us try to follow a recipe to the last period and the result didn't look like the pictures? Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.
My girlfriend who’s Chinese really appreciates your accuracy with your Chinese pronunciations, and the in depth research. She loves your channel
"This is why I don't run."
I felt that in my soul.
Can't believe Max is hitting us with Chinese New Year content. Great pronunciation as usual. This video is getting me all hyped up for CNY. WOO
Thank you 🙏
Fun fact: the character for luck "fu, 福" often written on Chinese paper lanterns, is hung upside down at many homes and businesses at new year, so one can say "fu dao le 福倒了," meaning "luck got turned upside down" which sounds identical to "luck has arrived" or "fu dao le 福到了" (even tones are the same and you can see the characters look similar)
That _luck fu_ looks so much like something else.
@@RaymondHng in Cantonese 福 is pronounced fuk so 🤔
Ok I'm ABC and my Mandarin is really crappy so I could be wrong- but aren't the tones actually different here? "Upside down" should be dao3, and "arrived" should be dao4, right?
@@its_clean there's two "dao" that are associated with upside down, dao3 which more closely translates to "fall down" and dao4 which is more accurately "reverse/upside down" so the one here should actually be dao4
Interesting. Canadian here, and I would imagine 'Luck' written upside down would be inviting a lack of it. Like western superstition of the horseshoe over the doorway; hanging it right side up so it looks like a U catches the luck, while an upside down horseshoe suggests luck running out.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Kinda crazy how much I'm learning from this video, considering... I'm Chinese.
I absolutely love your videos.
啊。。。你好像被我关注了。。。
Ayyy channel hybridization
WHOAH! Fancy seeing you here! Happy new year!!
YOOOO ITS MAH BOI YANG ZHANG
When he pronounced "Qimin Yaoshu" and "Jia Sixie" I was like 👌😳
He did it perfectly
Yeah omg! I am amazed!
I don't speak Chinese, but when he said it, I had to come to the comments to see if it was right!
@@codyofathens3397 yeah, me, too, lol
Im mostly chinese and i cant move my mouth and tongue to make these sounds lmfao :')
Maybe Zixu was a more rotund man, when he was running away, he lost alot of weight hence the rapid aging thing, it was actually just loose skin.
I think that might do it
Also maybe his facial hair grew longer or he somehow cut it, but thats just another guess
“I’m a pig, and so is my zodiac sign”
I couldn’t stop laughing for a good minute. I had to rewind to listen to what we were making xD
Yes that was one of his best openings ever🤣
I'm a Taurus, Year of the Ox.
“There are also appearances by our cats, Cersei and Jaime” for that, I’ll go sub right now
I'm guessing the cats are fixed! Lol
I guessing that aren't and related
Dude integrates the memes, food, and history so solidly.
It's crazy to me that this channel only started at the end of 2019, it feels like you were made to do this Max! Great video as always :)
One year anniversary is at the end of this month when I posted my first video :)
Your pronunciation is *chef’s kiss*
Thank you 😊
Better than a lot of people, to be honest lol
You mean xief's chizz?
Well... some of then he just got right once, and copy-pasted the soundbyte everywhere else...
Lot's of love, no shade, but I see you lazy pig:)
@@HangryinBrussels lol.. Is that why it sounds like when movies swap curse words with other words? 😂😂
My Mom buy this cake every lunar year. We're not of Chinese. But Mom grew up in a neighbourhood with 50% Chinese people. So she likes to taste her childhood around this time of year.
Nothing makes me happier than listening to people put in the work to pronounce different languages correctly
I love how you not only do European recipes, but you also look at history of different cultures around the world. Maybe you should try Polynesian recipes from anthropologist records? I dunno
I would LOVE to see max cook in an imu but also I'd rather he find nesian recipes from actual islanders (which I'm sure is the approach hed take) and not biased western sources
You have blossomed into a foodie anthropologist and tour guide. This is immensely entertaining and very educational. Jose and your eminence are putting Food Network and all those stuffy networks to shame. Great work guys...and I do mean work. Your research is astonishing. I thought I knew some stuff. You folks really go the extra 10 miles!!!! Thank You!
OMG The subtle incorporation of the drag queen Jujubee's face with the fruit was hilarious!
Thank god I"m not the only one who got that XD
5:02
That's hilarious, I didn't notice until you pointed it out. Thanks!
Love her! One of the top queens from RPDR, imo. Thanks for putting her face on here Max ❤
I was THRILLED!
OMG I almost spilled my coffee when I saw Jujubee's face
🤣
you're right on the wrapping with bamboo leaves. I feel like its something only old school grandmas can do.
5:03 One of the Jujubes is not like the others. It has Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent.
Yeaaaasssss I was looking for the person who commented about Miss Jujubee!!!!!💞😊
LMAO I CACKLED AT MISS JUJU IN THERE
And one of them can read you to filth.
“I’ve never been blown like that”
Yes! I legit LOL when I saw her! 🤣🤣 nice detail
I appreciate that you let us know when you fail. A lot of content creators only show their successes, but failures are just as important.
It’s how we learn 😁
Chef John's failures are some of his most hilarious videos.
with how long it took you to chew just one bite of this stuff, i can totally believe several entire cakes shutting up a god for his entire meeting.
I love how detailed your research is! Kept making mental notes of “I’ll google that later” only for them to be answered in the video! :)
That's such a great compliment! Thank you.
I'm not Chinese nor do I know anything about how to speak it, but those Chinese pronunciations sounded extremely authentic.
A non sweet version of Nian Gao with just glutinous rice is also made and cut into thin pieces. These pieces are boiled and then stir fried like noodles and are eaten year round. The Nian Gao in this episode is also the precursor to the Japanese Mochi.
Your content is a production. It is theatre. It is comedy. It is drama. It is what I need in my life!
That Simpsons "He's already dead!" cut is Emmy's-tier editing.
That was my favorite moment!
A staple for any Chinese household during the Lunar New Year holidays! My favorite are ones with coconut milk mixed in, the texture is softer and more "marshmallowey" so it's friendlier on the jaws 😋
My theory is that this was originally a treat for hyper kids to literally keep them quiet.😓🤣
And if chewing it didn't do the trick, some cake was used to glue them to the chair
That is brilliant! This tribal knowledge must be shouted to the masses! We can call them "Hush Cakes" :)
@@Nova_Needle Hush cakes?
Is that why "let them eat cakes" was born?
This is too deep! /J
Fun fact: here in the Philippines, we call nian gao "tikoy" and it comes in a lot of flavors apart from sugar and molasses. I've seen strawberry, ube and pandan lately. We usually slice them into rectangles, coat them in egg and pan fry them. My personal favorite is wrapping slices in spring roll wrapper, fry them and drizzle condensed milk over it.
ube tikoy would be awesome! sadly, i doubt the fillings in my teeth would agree :D
My mom is from the Philippines and she just dipped tikoy in egg. My dad is from Taiwan and he insists on adding flour to the egg 🤷🏻♂️
@@Keeperoffyre Ube anything is awesome.
@@Keeperoffyre I'm intrigued by the pandan also.
nah... gi gutom ko hahaha
PLS I love how sincerely you tried the pronunciations. The results were super impressive and the sentiment was so nice
Max and Jose picking out a wedding cake;
wedding planner: here we have a lovely 3 tier cake
Max: you know, wedding cakes originated (starts rattling off trivia)
Jose: (to the planner) now you 've gone and done it!
Ha! Reminds me of the character of Detective Arthur Dietrich on the TV show Barney Miller. He was always dropping tidbits of arcane information into conversations, no matter what the subject. But Max is so much cuter.
If you had asked me a year ago what I would be doing now, probably "watching a Disney prince cooking Nian gao and talking about history" would have never crossed my mind
Disney prince???
lol he does look like a disney prince doesn't he? Where are all the talking animals to help him cook 😹
IIRC Jose works for Disney
@@secretalias2264 The talking animals are what he is cooking
@@secretalias2264 does the occasional Pokemon plushies count?
Your super-authentic pronounciations of Chinese words, names and terms was not only really cool but has me suddenly mulling over the idea of trying to learn the language myself. It's been vaguely on my brain for awhile but something about seeing a guy I like and respect on youtube going way out of his way to 'do it right' by the language instead of just the usual "apologies for butchering this" has made me all hyped up about the idea.
The cheery way you said "there was a coup, the king was assassinated..." Made me spit out my drink
Ketchup with Max is an excellent show. Definitely check it out, everyone!
Seconded!
Oh shucks 😙
The pan-fried method with the egg crust is really good for combating the stick factor! Also the thin slices really help! My family is from Southern China and it’s the way my mum has been making it for us every year :D
5:10 "honestly, any date will work" Been telling myself that for years. Have yet to find one so I'm still single.
I am the Year of the Boar too - a wood boar and my mom is a dragon. My late husband was a rabbit; my mom told me we were very compatible. She was right, we were together 28 yrs when he passed from cancer. My mom is Hawaiian and Chinese, so I grew up eating ngin gau - we just called it gau back home in Hawaiʻi. Gau is sold in every grocery store in Hawaiʻi during Chinese New Year. We line the mold with ti leaf and we only use jujubes and sesame seeds in our gau. My family are from Guangdong province and belong to the Hakka minority group. I still crave my grandfatherʻs sisterʻs gau from when I was a kid. Aunty Babeʻs gau was always sticky. She said we ate it "so the family sticks together in the New Year. " Kung Hee Fat Choy to you and Jose!
I really just can't get enough of you ! Your knowledge mixed with all kinds of humor...Umph, Genius ! ( That jujube queen photo slip in... hysterical ! ) Thanks for all the hard work you guys do 😀
Yep, he's totally not snitching after taking a bite of that.
Must take too long to chew haha
Time to do some mafia shit with the 年糕 to silence that snitch forever
jk don't snitch
Thank you for sharing this. Our Nian Gao in Singapore and Malaysia is also sticky and sweet! Also spot on for explaining the puns. Almost all the dishes we eat during Chinese New Year have names based on word plays that denote various things like success, prosperity or hopes for good fortune.
I’m also very impressed how close you were when pronouncing the sound lü, when I was learning Chinese that was easily one of the hardest sounds for us English speakers to make and we were speaking it every day, not just once for a RUclips video 👏
As a Korean here, have a Happy Seollal this Friday!
(P.S. any possible episodes on tteok or other ancient Korean cuisines? Thanks!)
Yes! Probably this summer. Just got a translation of one of the oldest Korean cookbooks.
@@TastingHistory oh I’m so excited! I’m not Korean but I live in Korea and would love to see this
Really looking forward to this!!! :D
Billy,Don’t be a hero, Avatar, Star Wars and Dick Tracy! The references are as thick as the cake!
Jujubee hiding in the dates sent me!
I cracked up so hard at the Billy one lol
I really appreciate how much effort Max puts into his pronunciations. Sometimes it's so hard a shift in gears it feels like an automated message. That's a compliment!
"All warfare is based... as well as this cake" - Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu said that
@@dominicesquivel3901 And I reckon he knows a little more about fighting than you do, pal!
"All warfare is based on confection."
Sorry tira, but TissuePaper version is better
@@elennapointer701 Because he invented it! And then he perfected it so that no living man could beat him in the ring of honor!
Honestly im both embarassed for how long it took me to realize Max has a husband-to-be (ive watched this channel for the past two months and just subscribed to ketchup a week ago) and im also super excited for him and José (sorry if i spelt it wrong) are engaged! Congrats you two!
Same with me 😂
@@ladycrowley1413 idk, he always came off gay to me :P
He never really mentioned it, surprised me too
Lmao I'm both happy for the rep and happy that my gaydar was so good at picking it up so long ago lmao
@@aloysiusdevadanderabercrombie8 yeah I guess I'm just finely tuned lol
I appreciate how knowledgeable Max is and can say "et cetera" absolutely correctly.
I need more moments in life where working out is in the chewing.
🤣
Strong jaws are definitely a sign of strength - we should all justify our gourmet decisions that way
;-)
"How practical, a snack you can panel your den with!"
(props to the first person to get that reference)
And how amazing is it that you were able to pronounce Zixu's name with the exact same tone and inflection every single time you say it... funny, that.
The fact that you put Jujubee with the jujubes made my day
I lost it at the "stop, hes already dead" clip. I was not expecting that. Good stuff as always max.
Jujubee in the Jujubes is exactly what I needed this morning.
This has become my new favorite RUclips channel. A huge history buff and foodie 👌. Keep up the amazing work and look forward to new videos!
When you mentioned Cat, the whole of Fruits Basket rushed back into my brain and made me very happy. ☺️
Same here! 😊
Same!
Shanghainese person here. Despite our city's fame for sweet foods (well, sweet by Chinese standards), we often eat our niangao savory. You can buy them pre-cut into little discs and frozen from the grocery. They can be used in soups or a stir fry, a practice that is also common in Korea and Japan. For the stir fry, you stir fry some meat and mushrooms in a pot with some soy sauce, then put nappa cabbage on top, add salt, then put the frozen nian gao on top. A lot of water comes out of these ingredients, so you then shut the lid and let it steam until the niangao is soft, lightly mix, and then it's ready to eat.
i really appreciate you taking the time to pronounce the names with accuracy! u r awesome!
I’m a rooster, which makes me laugh since my mom collects rooster figurines. I tease her about being the first in her collection 😂
Chinese-Indonesian grandmothers watching Max struggles to wrap the rice cake: *laughing in Surabaya dialect* 😂😂😂
As a fellow Chindo, I can hear that 😂
Kinda sad I never knew them till I stumbled on them on CNY abroad. Either Jakarta is too focused on moon cakes or I’m just uninitiated since I’m not Chinese lol
My family does it dipped in egg and fried. Another way is we cut the rice cake up into smaller bite-sized pieces and stir-fry them with cut-up sausages, bacon and veggies. We usually eat it for breakfast.
Did no one notice the jujube edit? LMAO My kind of humor!
Legend also has it that Wu Zixu's last words before committing suicide were 'dig my eyes out and hang them by the city gates, as I want to be watching when we're invaded by the Yue'. So yeah, between that and the corpse whipping... Some character he is. And when that ultimately happened, King Fuchai of Wu committed suicide as well. Before dying, he covered his face with a white cloth as he was too embarrassed to face Wu Zixu in the afterlife.
To this day, Wu Zixu is venerated in the land where the Kingdom of Wu used to stand (modern day Suzhou, which happens to be my hometown haha). One of the city gates is named after him (胥门).
Max, I love how you also do non European cooking history. And your do it so well.
"Billy, don't be a hero." - You leveled me again on that one and I had to rewind the video again because of the giggles. The history on this one was beyond fascinating!
I’m pretty sure fewer than a dozen people will even get the reference 🤣
I’m in the fewer than a dozen group. Woohoo!
Well now that song is in my head.
This made me laugh as well :)
@@sarahrosen4985 I only get it because I am exactly 423 years old, but the things you young whippersnappers revive...
;-)
Your accent is great! Very impressed . Keep on doing the good work that you’re doing.
The last time I was this early, we hadn't found evidence for the Shang dynasty yet.
🤣
Oof
Bronze-level joke!
Nice😆
This episode was brilliant. The art, the storytelling, the gooey sweet...kudos from this Tiger. :)
My favorite is making a layered version of this and steaming it directly in my rice cooker haha. I usually layer it with cooked sweet red bean, honey jujube, walnuts, gojiberries, and honey/brown sugar. Loooove it and it's healthy as a dessert or snack!
max is the most wholesome youtuber truly
This may be the best episode yet. Fascinating history, tasty treats, a shout out to "Billy, don't lose that number", and some epic Mariah Carey shade. What more could you want?
I’m an Ox and a Taurus
Happy year of the Cat to any Vietnamese celebrating Lunar New Year, was in Ho Chi Minh last night for imthe first day, though I didn’t do much. Hope everyone celebrating their Lunar New Year has a blast.
This show has gone from "good" to "I need 1000% more max and Jose content"
Good news. There’s a channel for that. :)
Love how your channel has grown and your personality can shine through the camera!
Thank you 😊
Jujubee made an appearance I LOVE IT
The poor guy who first made this stuff probably didn’t use oiled bamboo leaves. The guy had to buy a whole new kitchen.
🤣
😂😂😂
Actually, we knew perfectly clear it was gonna be hella sticky when we first started eating sticky glutenous rice - that's why they figured out they could even do this sticky rice cake thing.
Putting sticky rice dishes onto lightly oiled leaves is a common way to package and preserve them. It's easy to portion and transport too! Nowadays you see them in plastic wraps more, though some dishes will still have big leaves wrapping them, like zhongzi.