Stir-fried Rice Cakes with Pork
As lunatics in the wider world wielded guns and mailed pipe bombs, your hostess was busy dealing with crooks and idiots.
It’s been that kind of few weeks.
Or maybe that kind of two years.
(Not indicative of above.)
—
Stir-Fried Rice Cakes with Pork comes, in part, from Georgia Freedman’s Cooking South Of The Clouds: Recipes And Stories From China’s Yunnan Province.Â
Yunnan Province is an ethnically diverse region whose population includes Bai, Dai, Miao, Yi, and Dali peoples. As of this writing (October 2018), many of these Muslim minorities are experiencing horrific persecution at the hands of the Chinese government. To learn more, read this.
I’ve discussed rice cakes before, but if they’re new to you, they are worth searching out. Made from pounded sticky rice, rice cakes are molded into a variety of shapes and sizes. Add them to stir fries, soups, or stews, where they’ll suck up surrounding flavors and add lovely texture, shape, and color. They’re just delightful.
Until fairly recently I could only find rice cakes at Asian markets. Happily, they’re becoming more widely available. Look in the Asian food aisle of your local market, near the noodles and tofu.
Chinese ham cannot be imported into the United States. Chinese-style ham is sold at Asian markets; that’s where I purchased mine. Feel free to use prosciutto or regular old ham.
If you do purchase Chinese-style ham, it needs to be steamed before you stir-fry it. Follow package instructions.
Chinese pickled mustard tuber is easily made at home when your dryer isn’t falling apart and you aren’t battling insurance companies. (Cough.)
If, like me, you are too busy being in a pickle to make a pickle, you can purchase the stuff. The above product came from 99Ranch. Chinese Pickled Mustard Tuber is also available online–Georgia Freedman recommends Sichuan Gao Ju Fu Ji Food Co Brand.
Please do not be deterred by appearances, unfamiliarity, or xenophobia. Like the salted black bean, Chinese pickled mustard tuber is a power ingredient. And it is delicious. A little goes a long way. Rinse it before using, give it a little chop, and add a spoonful to your next stir-fry.
Having made this heartfelt pitch, know the recipe is successful without the pickle: worried John would dislike it, I prepared side by side stir-fries, one with mustard pickle, one without. The dish including pickle won.
Stir-fried Rice Cakes with Pork
Adapted from
Georgia Freedman’s Cooking South Of The Clouds: Recipes And Stories From China’s Yunnan ProvinceÂ
and
Carolyn Phillips’s All Under Heaven
serves 2-3 as a main dish, more if serving a traditional Chinese meal
preparation time: 20-30 minutes; mostly slicing and trimming
Ingredients
approximately 2 ounces/56 grams Chinese-style ham, prosciutto, or quality ham, sliced thinly (see notes)
5 Chinese dried mushrooms, whole or in strips
For the pork marinade:
1 tablespoon light soy sauce (not low sodium; see notes)
2 tablespoons Shaoxing Rice Wine
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pound/464 grams boneless pork, sliced into small pieces
For the rest:
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 scallions, trimmed and sliced
4-8 ounces/125-250ml chicken broth, water, or the mushroom soaking liquid
12 ounces/185 grams rice cake
1 tablespoon Chinese pickled mustard tuber, rinsed, large pieces chopped if necessary (optional)
Peanut or other high-heat neutral vegetable oil, for the wok
Sesame oil, for drizzling
salt, if needed
Rice, to accompany
Instructions
You will need a small, microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, a sharp knife, two large bowls, a cutting board, and either a 12-14 inch/33-35cm wok or sauté pan with a heavy bottom.
“*” denotes points in recipe where you can take a break.
If you are making rice, start it now.
*
If you are using Chinese-style ham, steam it now. Allow to cool while you prep rest of dish.
*
Place dried mushrooms in microwave-safe bowl or cup, cover with water, and microwave for a minute. Push mushrooms beneath water with clean implement to saturate them. Allow to soak. Do not burn your fingers and sue me.
*
Prepare the marinade:
In one of your large bowls, mix soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch into a slurry. Slice the pork, give the marinade a stir–cornstarch likes to settle–and add the meat. Mix to combine with fork or your very clean hands. If mixture seems dry, add a very little more soy sauce with a spoon. Do not pour directly from bottle to bowl, lest you have an oversalted mess. I have done this.
If you are taking a break, refrigerate the pork. Otherwise, leave it out.
*
Drain the mushrooms, reserving soaking water if using as moistening agent. Slice mushrooms into strips if whole.
If you steamed ham and allowed to cool, slice into small pieces.
Rinse pickled mustard tuber in cool water. I find a handheld strainer useful here. Pat dry with paper towels. If there are any large chunks, slice them into smaller bits.
Arrange all your ingredients near wok. Place a spoon and large clean bowl nearby, too. Also your drink. But not your cell phone!
*
Stir-fry the dish:
If you refrigerated the pork, take it out of the fridge.
Place wok on burner and heat to high. Add about two tablespoons peanut oil: you want the bottom of wok coated generously. Heat until just under smoking point.
Turn heat down slightly and tip in pork. Cook, stirring continuously, until pork is just cooked through, about two minutes. Don’t overcook; you’ll be adding pork back to the wok. Turn heat down. Spoon pork into the clean bowl.
Add a little more oil if necessary. Crank heat back up. Add the ginger and scallion. Stir for about half a minute. Now add the ham and dried mushroom. Stir fry for another half-minute.
Add the rice cakes and pour in about a quarter-cup/60 ml broth, water, or reserved mushroom water. Rice cakes like to stick, so use your judgement here. Continue stir-frying, drizzling in more liquid as needed to prevent sticking. The rice cakes will cook through within a minute or so, becoming soft and flexible.
Add the picked mustard, if using.
Now return pork to the wok and give everything a good stir. Taste for salt, add a nice slug of sesame oil, and try not to pick out all the rice cakes before you hit the table.
Leftovers, should you have any, are great for breakfast or will keep, refrigerated in a covered container up to three days.
Leftover rice should be refrigerated immediately after eating and consumed within three days.
Notes:
Chinese ham cannot be imported into the United States. Chinese-style hams are sold in Asian markets. The one I bought needed steaming for 10 minutes before stir-frying; consult package directions.
If you don’t have light soy sauce, feel free to use regular.
Carolyn’s recipe includes bamboo shoot, a delectable addition provided it isn’t too waterlogged from freezing. (ahem.)
