炒年糕 | Chinese Stir-Fried Rice Cakes

I don't if you guys know, but I'm Chinese/Taiwanese. 90% of the people I met in life has always questioned my nationality. Most people's first guess is always Korean then Vietnamese. Recently I had someone guess Filipino which is waaaay off. I've even had people ask if I was mixed. When they find out I'm Chinese, the first thing they ask is "Can you make me Chinese food?!" No. Sadly this Chinese cannot cook Chinese food. Besides, orange chicken and beef and broccoli is not even an authentic dish served in China or Taiwan for that matter.

So.. I don't think you guys know, but I'm also currently obsessed with KPOP, watching Korean TV dramas, TV shows/variety shows. My Mom is mad at me because all I watch is Korean shows and instead I should be brushing up on my Chinese. I originally bought rice cakes to make Ddukbokkie | 떡볶이, but instead I came across Jayden's Chinese stir-fried rice cake. I haven't had 炒年糕 since I was a kid! And I remember we use to eat it during Chinese New Years. So, when I found Jayden's recipe, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to make it and it was so good!

The recipe itself is extremely simple. It can be a little time consuming if you don't prep in advance because you need to marinade the pork, soak the mushrooms and rice cakes ahead of time. The recipe calls for Chinese rice wine. You will not be able to find this at your local grocery store and some Asian markets unless it's like 99 Ranch Market or you live in a heavily populated Asian city. I went to my local Korean market and nobody knew what Chinese rice wine was. If you can't find it, you can substitute it with Shaoxing Wine. If you can't find that either, I've read you can use dry sherry. DO NOT use cooking wine or sherry cooking wine.

I basically omitted it all together since I couldn't find any. Looking for the wine itself was more time consuming then prepping + cooking the recipe.



炒年糕 | Chinese Stir-Fried Rice Cakes
Original recipe from Steamy Kitchen*
*please go to her blog to check notes on rice cake and mushrooms

One 24-ounce package fresh rice cakes
4 dried Shiitake mushrooms
2 teaspoons soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 slices of pork, cut into very thin strips
2 tablespoons cooking oil
6 ounces Chinese Napa Cabbage, shredded
One 6-ounce can julienne cut bamboo shoots, drained
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1. In a large bowl, soak the fresh rice cakes for about 2 hours. Soak dried Shiitake mushrooms for 2 hours or up to overnight until softened. If you are using fresh shiitake mushrooms, skip this step.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the 2 tsp soy sauce, black pepper, sugar, rice wine, cornstarch together. Mix in the pork and marinate for 20 minutes or up to overnight in the refrigerator.

3. When you are ready to cook, have all of your ingredients ready. Drain the rice cakes. Drain the mushrooms and slice into very thin slices.

4. Heat alarge saute pan over high heat. When hot, swirl in the cooking oil. Add the pork and cook until browned and almost cooked through.

5. Add in the mushrooms and the bamboo shoots, stir fry for 1 minute. Add in the cabbage and stir fry for 2 minutes. Mix in the soy sauce.

6. Add in the rice cakes and toss very well. Pour in the broth, cover and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the rice cakes have browned a little and are softened. The sticky rice cakes will be just slightly chewy (but not hard to chew). Taste and add in additional soy sauce if needed. Serve immediately.

Pork Adobo

Pork Adobo
original recipe from appetiteforchina

2-4 Boneless pork chops, cut into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4-1/2cup vinegar
1/2- 1 cup water
2 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons brown sugar

In a medium sized saucepan, brown your pork for about 3 minutes. Set aside. Saute onion and garlic til soft and a bit caramelized. Add the soysauce, vinegar, water, bayleaf, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cooked pork and 2 TBsp of brown sugar. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes. Serve with rice.

Spicy Thai Noodles with Crispy Pork

I browse Foodgawker every day, at least a couple times a day and I came across this recipe and it was calling me to make it. ASAP! I refuse buy meat at my local supermarket since I know I can get it for a lot cheaper at the commissary on post. Sadly, it was pay day and that means prices are jacked up a little higher, stock is low and crazy people, so instead I went to the Asian market in Tacoma and was lucky to find ground pork for cheap, giant zucchinis and all the ingredients I need for this recipe.

Now, I'm full Chinese and Asian cooking is just not in my blood. I pretty much can't cook Asian food if my life depended on it, unless it came from the freezer section or I can just heat it up in the microwave. So, I was definitely a little wary when it came to this recipe, especially using fish sauce. I'm just thankful that this dish was not only edible, but delicious! The recipe only called for 6oz of the noodles, but I put the 10.5oz package which came with 4 bundles and I used 3 which resulted in A LOT of noodles, so I had to double the sauce. I didn't have peanuts on hand, so I had to omit that, but I'm sure it would of been tasty with it. I also couldn't find bird's eye chili at Safeway AND at the Asian market, so I bought some frozen red chili peppers which wasn't too too spicy, but I also didn't put that much in. If you like spicy, I would recommend adding more.



Spicy Thai Noodles with Crispy Pork
Recipe from The Kitchn

1/2 pound ground pork
1 6-ounce package glass noodles (bean threads/saifun)
3 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
1 bird's eye chili, ribs and seeds removed, minced (substitute 1/4 teaspoon dried chili flakes)
2 tablespoons peanuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
Extra chopped peanuts for garnishing

Warm a teaspoon of canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to break the pork into tiny crumbles. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring less frequently, until the pork turns deeply golden and crispy. Set aside.

While the pork is cooking, set the noodles in a bowl and cover them with hot water to soak. Let them sit until softened, about 10 minutes or until the pork has finished cooking.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in the noodles and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the noodles are stretchy and tender. Drain and rinse under cool water. Use a pair of kitchen shears to cut the mass of noodles 3 or 4 times: this makes the long noodles easier to eat.

Combine the noodles, pork, green onions, cilantro, chili, and peanuts in a large bowl. Whisk together the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice in a small bowl. Taste and add more of any of the ingredients to suit your tastes, then pour the sauce over the noodles. Use tongs or clean hands to lift the noodles, fold them over, and gradually work the ingredients into the noodles. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving or refrigerate until serving. Garnish each dish with extra peanuts.