You probably know that Karis and I love going to the Asian Markets here in Los Angeles. Each time I go, I grab a large bag of Rice Cakes. They come in a hefty 2 lb bag, I freeze what I don’t use, they freeze well and when I end up making them again, the whole family is re-delighted.

For this recipe I tried to emulate the Rice Cakes that are served at Din Tai Fung, a large scale dumpling house in Los Angeles. We always get two, as the kids absolutely love them. If you’ve never tried rice cakes, they’re pretty bland on their own, when cooked, they also complement the flavors you use in your recipe, they have a chewy texture and have a great mouth feel

While my take isn’t quite the same as Din Tai Fung’s, as the kids told me so, it’s pretty darn delicious. This time I made it with Beyond Meat Brats Sausage, of course you can substitute ground pork if you want.

If you get a chance to try Beyond Meat, do; they don’t have a weird aftertaste and they hold up pretty well after being sautéed. This dish would have been yummy without adding a meat substitute, but it’s new on the market and I thought I’d give it a go.

And this brings me to another thing, use good quality soy sauce whenever possible. I used to pick up soy sauce as I would pick up any other condiment. I have my favorites regarding mustards or olive oils, but in as far as soy sauce, the most selective thing I would do is grab either regular or reduced sodium. At 99 Ranch or Galleria Market, they have a wall of different soy sauces and I decide to do a taste test. Could I really taste the difference between soy sauces? Yes you can! The Marukan was hands down best next to the Kikkoman. Tamari was my second favorite, I know Tamari isn’t technically soy sauce but it’s what I had in the refrigerator and I wanted to see how well it stood up next to the others. Plus, some of those soy sauces are pricy, what if I didn’t like it? I didn’t want to be stuck with an expensive unusable soy sauce.

I digress. After you’ve sautéed the sausage or pork, set aside, sauté the greens then mushrooms. I only lightly seasoned them with a bit of garlic. Once cooked through, set aside. Drain the rice cakes that have been soaking in water add them to wok with a bit of oil and the seasonings for the rice cakes, cook for another 1-2 minutes. You don’t want them to cook too long or they get mushy when you add the rest of the ingredients, think al dente pasta without the crunch. Lastly, add the sausages, veggies and pepper, and heat through. Garnish with some chopped scallions and serve!

Stir Fried Rice Cakes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Marinade:
3 Beyond Meat Brats or 8 oz Ground Pork
1 tbs Mirin
3/4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tbs minced garlic

3 cups Chinese Broccoli / Gai Lan
2 cups of mushrooms, shitakes, cremini or (Any assortment that you like)
1 tbs minced garlic

To flavor rice cakes:
1/4 cup  veggie broth stock
1 tbs oyster sauce

To garnish rice cakes:
1/4 tsp ground black or sichuan peppercorns
2 green onions, finely chopped

Instructions

Soak Rice Cakes in cool water for 30min

Put “Sausage” or Ground Pork in a bowl and add rice wine, cornstarch, soy sauce, and white pepper, ginger and garlic.

Heat wok over high heat. Swirl in oil and add Chinese Broccoli/ Gai Lan. Stir-fry until stalks are tender but still crisp, 1-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Do the same with the mushrooms

Heat wok over high heat. Swirl in 2 tablespoons of oil. Add garlic and stir-fry until garlic is golden brown, about 10 seconds. Add meat mixture and sear in wok undisturbed until it begins to brown, about 30 seconds. Using spatula, stir-fry for 1 minute longer until meat is lightly browned. Remove from wok and set aside.

Drain rice cakes, add to wok. Add veggie broth and cook uncovered 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add oyster sauce, pepper, and the rest of the oil, if needed. Stir constantly to prevent rice cakes from sticking too much. Cook until rice cakes are soft but still chewy, about 1 minute. Add vegetables and meat back to wok and stir to mix evenly.

Serve immediately, garnishing with green onions.