These are also called New Year Rice cakes but great anytime
Hokkien restaurants are not common. These soft and chewy rice cakes are one of those Hokkien dishes that I love but can never find in restaurants except for one obscure coffee shop in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, wedged between a tire shop and a hardware store. My mum will make this once in a while and it is quite a simple recipe and delicious.
In true Malaysian Hokkien style, it’s recognisable by the generous use of dark soy sauce. It is not as dark as a KL Hokkien Mee but similar.
Nostalgic recipes – Hokkien stir fried rice cakes
Taste and smells can transport you to a different time and bring up old memories. This stir-fried Hokkien rice cake dish is one of those. They are also called pek geh (in Hokkien) or pak kuih (in Malaysian Cantonese). It is one that we occassionally had at home. In our family, we didn’t have a tradition of cooking this for Chinese New Year although I see that they do in Shanghai and also Korea.
My mum and I will sometimes stop here for a bite after babysitting the triplets in Bangsar. Sometimes to avoid the traffic jam back to Ampang and also for a bit of a treat, Hokkien food that is not home cooked.
Hokkien food is not often found outside the home. There aren’t many restaurants that serve these dishes. Recently, I saw that the Shangrila Hotel in Hong Kong has introduced a Hokkien menu, understandable as their billionaire big boss and his wife are both Hokkien Chinese from Malaysia.
In Taiwan, they call Hokkien food Minan cuisine. There are some similarities and there is no denying that they share the same DNA. But geography and time dilute and transform.
Hokkien Pek Geh or white rice cake
This rice cake dish is easily found in Chinese supermarkets in the dry form. It is white, evenly oval shaped and needs soaking before use. You can substitute these dry ones for the ready-to-cook ones from a Korean grocery shop (usually found in either the refrigerated or frozen sections) and sometimes the Shanghainese version from a Chinese supermarket. I always have a packet or two in my larder.
These rice cakes are made of rice flour and are gluten-free. To make this recipe totally gluten-free, use a gluten-free soy sauce instead of a regular one.
The texture of these rice cakes is a bit like a very al dente and thicker tagliatelle. They are a little bit chewy with a bit of give. Not like a sticky mochi.
There are regional and national variations like in Shanghai and even Korea (Dduk Guk 떡국). Of course, they cook it differently in those other places. Stir-fried in Shanghai and cooked in an anchovy or beef broth in Korea.
How to stir fry white rice cakes pek geh
In KL, we cook these rice cakes/ pek geh/ pak kuih in a dark soy sauce with lots of leeks and slices of pork. If you like, with lots of crispy pork lard.
The recipe is quite simple. As long as you have adequately soft rice cakes, putting it all together is a cinch and takes minutes.
If you are using the dry rice cakes, you will need to soak the dry rice cakes in water for between 10-24 hours (depending on where you are and the room temperature. In winter, you will need the full 24 hours for the rice cakes to get rehydrated.) They should be bendy and not break easily when they are ready. As you can see in the images, the rice cakes have almost doubled in size after soaking, so allow for lots of room in the bowl and make sure you add enough water.
Prepare the other ingredients. Slice the pork loin or pork shoulder into thin strips, marinate in soy sauce and cornflour.
Soak the dry shitake mushrooms for at least 30 minutes, and slice into thin strips.
Slice the leeks into diagonal slices, not too thin as they will disappear in the stir fry. finely chop the garlic.
Wash and cut the napa cabbage / Chinese leaves into smaller pieces, about an inch wide.
Stir fry the pork for about 2-3 minutes in a medium-hot wok. Add the leeks and washed Chinese napa cabbage and stir fry for a few minutes until wilted.
Add the rice cakes and seasonings and stir fry it carefully without breaking up the rice cakes.
The dark soy is to give these rice cakes a dark brown colour. You can use kicap manis here too. Adjust how much you add to your own liking. We like it quite dark.
As the vegetables cook, they will release water which will form the sauce. Put a lid on the wok for about 4-5 minutes for all the flavours of the sauce to meld and seep into the rice cakes. The rice cakes do absorb flavours really well.
Turn off the heat and serve immediately with some sliced red chillis or the more spicy Thai Birds eye chillies on the side.
For the purists, you absolutely do not garnish this dish with spring onions, sesame seeds, sesame oil or bean sprouts. That would just ruin the flavour balance of this dish and it just won’t taste like it was originally intended.
These cooked rice cakes don’t keep very well in the fridge. Reheating them can result in the rice cakes breaking (but still edible) and microwaving will make them hard. A slow heat in a pan will be the best way to warm up any leftovers.
SAVE THIS FOR LATER ON PINTEREST!
