Shanghai rice cake recipe with napa cabbage and bok choy
Shanghai rice cake with napa cabbage, shiitake, and bok choy is a dish inspired by Din Tai Fung stir fried Chinese rice cake in brown sauce. This dish is vegetarian and gluten-free.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 8 oz Chinese rice cakes oval, sliced, flat-disc shape also known as Nian gao
- 4 oz fresh shiitake mushroom 4 large caps
- 0.5 oz garlic 3 large, finely minced
- 0.2 oz ginger finely minced
- 2 bulb scallions sliced and separate white and green parts
- 6 oz napa cabbage
- 6 oz baby bok choy 5 dwarf baby bok choy, halve or quarter or diced for larger ones
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil, divided
- ¼ tsp coarse sea salt
- Drizzle Toasted sesame oil
- A small dash white pepper
Sauce:
- 1.5 tbsp oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce or coconut aminos
- ½ tbsp dark soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp chicken stock or vegetable stock
- ½ tbsp gluten-free mirin or Taiwanese michu, Shaoxing wine, optional
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: Slice the shiitake and prepare the garlic, ginger, and scallions. Separate the white and green parts.
- Dice the napa cabbage stems to thin slices, about 0.5 inch slice and napa cabbage leaves to 2.5 inch sections. Halve or quarter the bok choy. Rinse them well, drain, and pat dry.
- Prepare rice cakes: Use your hands to carefully and gently separate each piece. Follow the package instructions. My rice cakes are from the refrigerated aisle and the instructions say to boil them in hot boiling water for 3 minutes.
- Bring a pot of water to boil and add the rice cakes. Stir the water periodically to ensure the rice cakes don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. After, the rice cakes will flow to the top and have a chewy texture that’s not mushy,
- Use a strainer to scoop out the rice cakes, drain, and transfer them into a large plate. Add 0.5 tbsp oil and gently toss the rice cakes to prevent them from sticking to each other. Spread them out into a single layer. This is important otherwise the rice cakes will stick to each other and make it harder to cook evenly in stir fry.
- To stir fry: Use a large saute pan - add 1.5 tbsp oil, saute ginger, garlic, white scallion parts for 10 seconds over medium heat.
- Then add cabbage, shiitake, and bok choy. Turn heat up to high and saute for 1 minute. Season with 1/2 tsp salt. Keep the veggies crisp because we are going to cook them further so don’t overcook them at this point.
- Lower heat to medium-high. Return rice cakes to the pot and place them directly on top of the cabbage. Add the sauce. Continue stir frying, scooping, and tossing the rice cakes for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. The rice cake will release starch further to help thicken the sauce.
- To serve: Turn off the heat. Transfer to a large serving plate. Garnish with toasted sesame oil, a small dash of white pepper, and green scallion parts.
Video
Notes
- To reheat from the leftovers, the rice cakes will harden after refrigeration. To reheat, spread out the rice cakes evenly in a large saute pan and add some water (about ¼ cup), cover the pan and steam for 2 minutes over medium heat to rehydrate and soften the rice cakes again. Then stir fry to bring back the texture and temperature. The rice cakes should taste soft and chewy with a nice bouncy texture.
- Pay attention to the vegetable quantity. Don’t use too much napa cabbage as it leaks more water than bok choy. Balance is the key.
- I intentionally used a higher vegetable ratio to rice cake than most stir fried rice cakes recipe out there to keep this dish more vegetable focused. If you prefer a bigger rice cake presence in the dish, increase the rice cake quantity to 10-12 oz.
- Napa cabbage naturally will release more moisture when you cook it. If, however, you feel your stir fry needs a bit more liquid, add 1-2 tbsp water or stock to the pot.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 473mg | Potassium: 184mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1355IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg