Sticky Rice Cakes (Nian Gao)

I had bought some rice cakes at the asian supermarket but had not cooked them yet. so i had REMEMBERED a rice cake dish i had in china and found a recipe which looks a lot similar.

Recipe from https://thewoksoflife.com/2013/12/stir-fried-sticky-rice-cakes-nian-gao/

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

FOR THE MEAT:

  • 8 oz (225g) pork shoulder or loin

  • 1 tsp cornstarch

  • 1 tsp soy sauce

  • 1 tsp oil

FOR THE REST OF THE DISH:

  • 12 oz (340g) rice cakes

  • 3 cups Napa cabbage or baby bok choy

  • 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked for an hour in warm water

  • 1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms

  • 1 large leek or 3 scallions

  • 1 clove garlic

  • 1 tbsp oil

  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)

  • Pinch of fresh ground white pepper

  • 1 tsp salt

  • Pinch of sugar

Method:

Slice the pork into thin slices and mix well in a bowl with 1 teaspoon each of cornstarch, soy sauce, and oil.

Rinse the rice cakes in in water and drain. Wash the napa cabbage and bok choy. If using napa cabbage, cut it into 1-inch slices. If using baby bok choy, just separate the leaves. Slice the soaked dried mushrooms and the fresh mushrooms. Clean and chop your leeks or scallions into 2-inch pieces. Mince your garlic. Set everything aside.

Heat the wok over high heat until smoking and add 1 tablespoon oil to coat the wok and sear the pork.

Add garlic, the leeks/scallions, the cabbage or bok choy, and the mushrooms. Stir fry on high heat for a minute and add the shaoxing wine. Add the rice cakes and mix well, scooping up from the bottom of the wok for 30 seconds and then cover for one minute. Remove cover and add the soy sauces, oyster sauce, white pepper, salt, and sugar. Mix well and stir-fry until the rice cakes are cooked through but still chewy.

It tasted very close to what you might find in Hong Kong or China. i did add the oyster sauce which i think gives it a more rounded flavor and tastes a bit more authentic. make sure to mix the rice cakes around so that they are all cooked evenly and the only real way to test if they are done is to try one, you want them to be done but still have a bit of a chew to them and so they do not become too sticky. it looks like a lot of sauce but it balances out as the rice cakes have no flavor so it needs to soak up the sauce. It is a super easy recipe to make and the ingredients are easily INTERCHANGEABLE if you prefer another protein and/or vegetable. it also might not look like a lot of food but the rice cakes do fill you up. NExt time i might try doing a korean version.

cooking, chineseJackie Wongrice cakes, nian gao, stickyComment