Rice Cakes With Peanut Sauce and Hoisin
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Kosher salt
- 2pounds rice cake sticks or sliced rice cakes, fresh or frozen
- 2tablespoons neutral oil such as vegetable or grapeseed
- 1tablespoon soy sauce
- ½pound yu choy or other Asian greens, halved lengthwise
- 2tablespoons hoisin sauce, diluted with 1 teaspoon water
- 2scallions, finely sliced
- 1tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds
- ⅓cup smooth peanut butter (natural or emulsified)
- 3tablespoons hot water
- ½tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1garlic clove, grated
- 1teaspoon soy sauce
For the Rice Cakes
For the Peanut Sauce
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1051 calories; 19 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 197 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 1168 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the rice cakes and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until softened. Drain and refresh under cold water.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce: In a medium bowl, place the peanut butter, hot water, sugar, garlic and soy sauce, and whisk together until combined. Set aside.
- Step 3
Heat a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet or wok on medium high. (Check the drained rice cakes. If they are sticking together, rinse them with cold water and gently toss to separate before adding them to the pan.) When the pan is hot, add the neutral oil and rice cakes, and toss to combine. Add soy sauce and stir-fry for 6 to 8 minutes, until the rice cakes begin to caramelize. (If more than a few clump together, add a tablespoon of water at a time and break them up with your spatula.) Add the yu choy and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the greens are wilted. Turn off heat, add the peanut sauce and toss to coat.
- Step 4
To serve, drizzle with the diluted hoisin sauce, scatter with scallions and finish with sesame seeds.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Liz
Soaked my (disc) cakes in room temp water for 25-30 mins and made sure none were stuck together. They caramelized beautifully and this is now my favorite way to prepare them! Added 2tsp ginger and 1tsp lime juice to the peanut sauce. Sooooo good.
Dan
None of the measurements in the recipe seem critical as to precision. Use whatever amount of rice cake you feel like eating, eyeball the rest of the ingredients for the rice cakes (skip the scallions? - unless you have one at hand and feel like chopping one of them) Make the full recipe for the peanut sauce, use the leftover tomorrow (or pretty soon) mixed with some spicy oil or hot sauce, pour over thin noodles as a side dish or app.
David
In past experiences with Korean sliced rice cakes, I’ve found that the sequence stir fry -> boil works well. To keep with the spirit of the recipe, I decided to reverse the sequence. Not so good. The taste was great in the end. But the rice cakes clung to the side of the wok like barnacles to a whale. It’s a while since dinner and the wok is still soaking as I try to remove them. I will return to the tried and true next time.
Caroline Ahn
Dan is right - Asian cooking is all about ratio (which you can adjust to tasge while cooking) than precision. For the rice cakes, just soak 30 minutes to an hour and stir fry. If you forgot to soak them and decide to lightly boil instead, make sure to wash off the starch with cold water before adding to the pan to avoid a gluey pasty situation.
Invidious
Very tasty! For anyone having texture issues with the ricecakes: don't boil them. I put the ricecakes straight into the hot oil from the bag, theyll stick but once they crisp up on the bottom you'll be able to stir them freely. Then add about a half cup of water or broth (I used dashi) along with the soy sauce and let it simmer, the rice cakes should absorb all the liquid. Follow the recipe from there. This resulted in rice cakes with a perfect texture.
Chaton
Tahini is runnier. If you can get Chinese sesame paste (I order mine online), it will work exactly like peanut butter.
MyVanCity.ca
I'm confused. By rice cakes do they mean the thick wafers of puffed rice?
Mrsrussell
No not the same, search up Korean rice cakes for illustration.
CJ
This was a comforting and satisfying veggie meal. With a little sesame oil and chili oil on top — perfection. As some other reviewers have noted, you don't need to boil the rice cakes. They get plenty soft in the pan (even from frozen!) with a splash or two of water and/or just the sauce you're cooking with.
lsolo
This is really satisfying and could be very adaptable. No need to measure precisely. I found that the dish needed more acid and more greens. I added a slash of rice vinegar prior to serving. Will make again!
RoLo
The only thing they have in common is that they're principally made from rice flour, though I believe the type of rice flour used for mochi is from glutinous rice, which is very different from the variety of rice used to make Korean (garaetteok) and Chinese (niangao) rice cakes. There are tutorials on cooking with the rice cakes specified in this recipe on My Korean Kitchen, Korean Bapsang, and Woks of Life, to name just several among many great online resources.
Shane G
I think the rice cake to veggie ratio is way off. Needs more veggies. Needs an acid, too. It was one-note for me and too heavy.
MollyT
If your rice cakes came in a vacuum packed bag with a little "Do Not Eat" packet, you'll want to soak them for an hour or more before cooking. Some food blogs suggest 3 hours - overnight. I found two hours was adequate (because we were getting hangry) although another hour would have made them softer.
r
Tahini is raw sesame so the taste would be different. Chinese sesame paste is toasted sesame and would be an appropriate swap. I have also seen tahini that specifies it's made with toasted sesame seeds, that would work as well. You might need a bit more sugar because the sesame leans more bitter than peanut butter.
sol sepsenwol
I followed the recipe exactly, boiling sliced rice cakes then stir-frying in a wok. The end-product was a gluey, rubbery mess. What did I do wrong? Even with the scallions and sesame seeds for looks, I lost my appetite after half of one modest bowl. All was not lost: I’ve discovered a great dieting aid!
ali
I added way more greens and drizzled with sriracha in addition to the recipe’s garnishes. Will definitely add a splash of vinegar next time, and opt for soaking instead of boiling the cakes.
Norma
Failure of epic proportions! This was the first time I cooked rice cakes. Bought the frozen ones at Trader Joe's. Discs were undercooked. I should have gone with the directions on the package instead of the ones on this recipe. Also, the peanut butter sauce was more of a paste and less of a sauce. I used bok choy, which was the only thing that was edible.
OC
My first attempt at cooking Korean rice cakes. I used the sliced cakes (soaked for an hour in tap water) and they stuck like crazy to my wok. Had to do an emergency transfer of the half cooked slices to a non-stick wok which worked much better. Used broccoli, thinly sliced bell peppers and carrots as the vegetables. I added more than 1 tablespoon of soy sauce during the stir frying as I didn't have hoisin to finish. Also added some finely chopped red bird's eye chillies to the peanut sauce.
Guy
The caramel crunchy coated rice cake is delicious. Our stove allowed the wok to cool and the process stopped. Two pounds was just too much for it. Twelve ounces at a time might work better. There was also a sticking problem. It too might be minimized by keeping the wok hot.
Guy
Be sure to read the notes before making the meal. It has two stars for a reason. With some changes it might make something very good. But the mess it makes, as is, takes longer to clean up than making and eating.
Tom Kowalczyk
I highly recommend NOT using the sliced rice cakes. They left all their caramel on the bottom of the pan. The sticks worked much better. I also doubled the garlic and greens and added about 1 t of ground Szechuan peppercorns. Esp. the peppercorns helped liven the dish.
MollyT
Knowing the propensity of rice cakes to bond themselves to the inside of my wok, I'm wondering how it might work to toss them with the oil and soy and roast them on a sheet pan with a silicon mat. Going to try it tonight.
EW
Mine definitely did not turn out like the picture. I read the comments and did not boil the rice cakes, but soaked and added extra water in the cooking. For the sauce, it ended up being pretty thick and gloppy, not smooth and glossy like the photo. The taste was good, but maybe on the sweet side for my preference. I would give it another try, but might keep searching for other rice cake recipes. I also added soaked shitaki, which was delish.
yee
This recipe was great with some tweaks! Agree with others to soak the rice cakes for 10-20 mins rather than boiling them (I used the tubular rice cakes). And added 1-2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar to give a bit more complexity. Very tasty and fast week night meal!
Jessica
I cooked this recipe as written except that I used 2lbs of bok choy. I used a cast iron skillet. At first the rice cakes stuck, but I used a spatula to loosen them. Once I added the greens that created enough moisture in the pan to prevent the rice cakes from sticking again. The peanut sauce was very thick, but I stirred it into the rice cakes and greens several times and that worked to evenly distribute the sauce. This is a delicious recipe and I'll definitely be making it again.
AF
Made this as written with sliced Korean rice cakes and it was a gluey, sticky mess that wasn’t edible. Went in the trash. Next time I’ll follow other reviewers’ advice and soak, stir fry, then add a bit of water/dashi and simmer it off until they’re tender, then finish the recipe as written.
Tess
This was quite possibly the worst (or most confounding) recipe i've used on this site. The rice cakes were extremely sticky and my pot turned in a pot of rice/soy glue. The pan may never be the same. After a decent amount of effort, we abandoned ship and ordered a pizza. (That said, the peanut sauce was tasty!)
michaelinsf
I really enjoyed making this dish. It’s a good dish for dividing by four: a solo dinner. I improvised with what I had: I didn’t have Asian greens so I parboiled small broccoli florets. I did not have hoisin sauce, but I did have plum sauce, which I boosted with tamari. I was tempted to add a whisper of gochujang, but resisted. It all came together beautifully.
Carol
Flavor was fantastic, but it was way too thick. Not sure if it was because I used less than 1lb of rice cakes or if I should have added even more veggies...
DJ
Thanks to those who have clarified what exactly are rice cakes. All I could think of were those awful things I used to feed my kids when they were toddlers (well, they liked them), many years ago. The thought of soaking them in water was darn near horrifying 😆
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