This Spicy Rice Cakes with Pork and Vegetables stir fry resulted from an exploratory shopping trip. I love experimenting with new ingredients, especially from different ethnic cuisines. I refuse to get into a food rut, recycling the same menus repeatedly and I am fortunate that Weldon enjoys trying out new tastes. To get new meal ideas, I often wander through Chicago’s Mexican, Chinese, Korean and Indian groceries, a treasure trove of culinary inspiration, checking out what is on the shelves, in the coolers and the vegetable bins. Each time I find something that I have not eaten before and after researching the product on the web and finding recipes, I compose a dinner around it.
I stumbled on these rice cakes in a cold case next to assorted frozen noodles at a local Korean grocery. These are not the dry, puffed, hockey-puck-size rice cakes of dieters. These sticky rice cakes (tteok in Korean or nian goa in Chinese) are made from ground sweet rice that is formed into a dough which is steamed, pounded, shaped, and sliced. What attracted me to these rice cakes is their oval and cylindrical shapes. Both shapes are translucent, like rice noodles. The oval ones are about the size of an elongated quarter; the cylindrical rods come in various lengths and thicknesses.
Having first encountered these rice cakes in a Korean store, I assumed they were exclusively used in Korean cooking. However, Wikipedia informs that rice cakes of varying shapes and preparation are used as an alternative to plain steamed rice throughout Asia where rice is the daily staple. Savory and sweet rice cake versions are enjoyed in Japan, Cambodia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India.
With a little research, I discovered that different kinds of Korean rice cakes (tteok or dok) are eaten year-round, but especially in soup on New Year’s Day and as a sweet at weddings and on birthdays. The cylindrical rods (garaetteok, pronounced karay-duck) are used in Korean sweet and savory dishes and street food. Rods sliced into oval discs (often also labeled “ovalettes”) are used in Korean and in Chinese, especially Shanghainese, stews, sauces, soups or stir-fries.
In Korean cooking, each shape has a specific purpose. There is no taste difference between the cylindrical or oval rice cakes. Pounded glutinous rice has the same taste as steamed rice, but the different shape affects the texture. The thicker, rounder rice cake can be toasted in a cast iron pan or charred on a grill, and still stay pleasantly chewy and soft in the center. Seasoned with Korean pepper paste, sesame seeds and a bit of sugar or corn syrup, they are called tteokbokki (pronounced duck-bo-key) and are sold, spicy and sweet, by street vendors. Depending on what is prepared, the thin, oval rice cakes are significantly less chewy than cylindrical rods, and absorb flavors better, requiring little or no pre-cooking. The thin rice cakes cook quickly and work well in stir-fried dishes or stews with meat or vegetables.
Korean recipes identify several methods of cooking rice cakes, depending on the type you buy. Cylindrical rods are thicker and take longer to cook. Soaked oval rice cakes cook in a few minutes. The objective is to make the rice cake soft, but not mushy. If bought dried, they should be soaked overnight up to 24 hours in cold water and then boiled for few minutes before adding to the stir-fry mixture. If bought frozen, they should be soaked in cold water for 1 hour to thaw and then other ingredients are added to cook through. If bought fresh-refrigerated, soak for about 5 minutes before adding them to the stir-fry. Cooking times are indicative. It is important to taste the firmness of the rice cake to determine when it achieves a firm exterior but soft interior.
As I was new to cooking rice cakes, I opted to use the quick cooking oval discs rather than the thicker cylindrical rods. Since the rice cakes were frozen, I soaked them for 1 hour in cold water, which resulted in a wonderfully chewy al dente texture. These cooked oval discs resembled flat gnocchi, a perfect base for a spicy stir-fry. Now I could assemble the ingredients and transform these plain rice cakes into Spicy Rice Cakes with Pork and Vegetables.
I love spicy food with crisp vegetables, and this seemed like a fortuitous fusion. Gochujang, a Korean hot chili paste mixture of red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt, provides the distinctive fiery punch characteristic of Korean cooking which is essential to this rice cake stir fry.
Napa cabbage and other vegetables add crunch and texture. A further topping of Korean red pepper flakes adds additional heat to this delightfully chewy, addictive and intensely flavored Spicy Rice Cakes with Pork and Vegetables.
There are many possible combinations of spicy rice cake stir-fries. Ground pork or pork belly or beef, sliced or ground, can be substituted for the sliced pork. Julienned carrots, regular cabbage, bok choy, bell peppers, seaweed, bean curd or bean sprouts can be used as vegetable alternatives or additions. Hard-boiled eggs can be added as well. Of course, pre-cooked cylindrical rice cakes can be substituted for the oval discs.
Spicy Rice Cakes with Pork and Vegetables
¾ pound (340g) Korean rice cakes (ovalettes)
¾ pound (340g) pork loin, fat removed and sliced very thin
6 dried shitake mushrooms
Marinade:
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons Korean hot chili paste (gochujang) (Tip: taste before adding and adjust amount as needed.)
Pinch sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine) or mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
Vegetables:
8 ounces (227g) Napa cabbage, leaves and stalks separated and sliced into 1-inch slices
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
|6 ounces (170g) bamboo shoots, sliced into thin strips
4 stalks spring onions, white part sliced into ¼ inch rounds, green part sliced on diagonal and kept separately
2 tablespoons canola
2 tablespoons soy sauce|
½ cup mushroom soaking liquid combined with any leftover marinade
Garnish: sesame seeds, reserved green scallion tops and Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru) optional.
Soak rice cakes in cold water to cover while preparing other ingredients, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Place dried shitake in a small bowl. Add boiling water to cover by about 1 inch. Set aside for 2 hours until softened. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from mushrooms, saving ½ cup of the soaking liquid for later use, discarding remainder. Then, remove stems and slice mushroom caps into ¼ inch pieces.
Slice pork into very thin slices. (Tip: place pork loin in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing.)
In a medium bowl, combine the marinade ingredients: soy sauce, hot chili paste, sugar, rice wine, cornstarch. Mix in pork, place in zip-lock bag and marinate for 20 minutes or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
Slice cabbage into 1-inch cross-wise slices, separating stalks and leaves.
Napa cabbage stem ends
Napa cabbage leaves
Remove meat from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking so it comes to room temperature.
When you are ready to cook, set table.
Heat a wok or large sauté pan over high heat. When hot, swirl in canola. Add ginger and garlic, stir-frying for a few seconds. Shake marinade off pork slices and add to wok, stir-fry until browned and almost cooked through, about 2 minutes.
Add reserved mushroom soaking liquid to bowl with leftover marinade. Mix and set aside.
Add mushrooms and bamboo shoots, stir-fry for 1 minute. Add Napa cabbage stalks, not leaves, and white part of scallions and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce.
Pour in mushroom soaking liquid, cover and lower heat to medium-low. Cook for 2-3 minutes until liquid is hot. Then add rice cakes, mix and simmer until sauce is thick and rice cakes are soft, adding water a little at a time as needed to prevent burning. Add and stir in green Napa cabbage tops. Adjust seasonings with sugar and Korean hot chili paste (gochujang). (The sauce will thicken, coating the rice cakes in a shiny glaze.) Add additional soy sauce if a saltier taste is desired.
Sprinkle green scallion tops on the stir fry just before turning the heat off. Then scatter sesame seeds and serve immediately while hot.
Serve as is or with bought kimchi for added Korean flavor. Add chili flakes if a spicier taste is desired.
Serves 6
One year: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/baked-cheese-babka/
Two years: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/grilled-vegetable-humus-black-pepper-olive-oil-tart/
Three years: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/chicken-with-olives/