There’s something really satisfying when you’re eating chewy, sticky rice cakes. This kimchi rice cakes recipe is made with pork and kimchi, a classic combination packed with umami flavours. Bonus? It’s only uses 1 pan and it’s done in 15 minutes.
Something I like to have around the house all the time is kimchi. It’s such a versatile ingredient that packs a strong flavour punch. Bonus is that it is also very healthy for you too. It’s made using lacto-fermentation which is a form of pickling that creates good bacteria and probiotics for your gut. If you have never had this before, and you don’t mind foods like sauerkraut then you should definitely try it!
At its simplest form, kimchi is made with nappa cabbage, red chili pepper flakes, garlic and salt but there are many different types of kimchi and many ways to make it so you really need to try it a few times from different places to know what your preference is.
As an ingredient, it goes really well in soups, stir-fries, sandwiches, noodles or just eat it as side dish like they commonly do in Korean cuisine.
When you first try it, you might be surprised at the strong flavours it imparts. When I first tried it, it was the strong garlic flavour that was the kick in the face, but everyone has a different experience. Terry’s first experience was that he didn’t like the sourness of it (yet he likes pickles, go figure). The most predominant flavours I would say is the strong garlic flavour with a sour kick with a little spiciness to it.
I’m all for complex flavours and good eats but sometimes we don’t have the time or we just feel lazy. Instead of picking up the phone for takeout, why not spend 15 minutes to throw together a flavourful meal instead? I bet it’ll be done cooking before takeout would have arrived. 🙂
INGREDIENTS
For this kimchi rice cake recipe, most of these ingredients will be found at your local Asian supermarket.
This dish takes 15 minutes and you can switch out the protein as well. I usually just use leftovers.
Traditionally, the more tubular shaped rice cakes are used in a dish like this but I prefer the rice cake slices since they are more bite-sized, less messy and easier to eat. Rice cakes are usually located in the freezer aisle but they can also be found in the fridge section as well.
[optional] Bonito flakes are paper thin shavings of a fermented and smoked tuna that are high in umami and smoky flavours. They go great as a garnish on any kind of dish to give it a nice smoky flavour.
I added in dashi powder to this dish for an additional smokiness and umami but that is completely optional.
LET’S PREP!
Slice the pork into bite-sized pieces, then put it in a bowl. Then add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and let it marinate for a few minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, water and the dashi powder together and set aside for later.
Slice the carrots, onions and kimchi and set these aside as well.
Put the rice cake in a strainer and run hot water through it for 1 minute.
THROWING IT TOGETHER
Pre-heat the pan on medium-high heat with a bit of oil and butter. I highly recommend a non-stick frying pan for this. Do not use a cast iron skillet pan for rice cakes. I found this out the hard way, and was left with a lot of goopy messes.
When the oil is hot and the butter has melted, add the pork and stir-fry it for a few minutes until it has browned and caramelized. Now you can add in the the kimchi, carrots and onions and stir-fry it together for a few minutes.
Lastly, add in the rice cakes and the sauce and cook until the rice cakes are chewy and soft. Voila! Garnish it with green onions, bonito flakes, or sesame seeds and enjoy!
Enjoy!
Stir-Fried Kimchi Rice Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork shoulder or pork butt (sliced)
- 1 1/2 cups kimchi
- 1 small carrot (cut into thin match sticks)
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 1 1/2 cups rice cake (frozen or fresh)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce (to marinate the pork)
- 1 tablespoon butter
Sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon mirin
- 5 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dashi powder
- 3 teaspoon hot water
Toppings (Optional)
- sesame seeds
- green onions
- bonito flakes
Instructions
Preparation
- Slice pork and marinate in soy sauce for a few minutes
- Slice the onions into thin slices and put aside
- Julienne the carrots into matchsticks and put aside
- Chop the kimchi and put aside
- Chop the kimchi and put aside
- Put the rice cakes in a colander or strainer and run under hot water for 1 minute
Putting it Together
- Set stove to medium-high heat and put some oil and butter into a frying pan
- When the butter has melted and the pan is hot add in the pork and cook it until it the meat has been browned. (approximately 5 minutes)
- Add in the kimchi, carrots and onions and cook for another 5 minutes
- Add in the rice cakes and sauce then stir fry until the rice cakes are soft (approximately 3 minutes)
- Garnish with toppings and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Kaitlyn says
This recipe is a winner. I doubled the amount of rice cakes (felt like more was needed to make 3 main meals, it ended up making 4+), but kept everything else the same, and it was bloody awesome!
This was my first time using rice cakes, and I’m tempted to make the half hour trip to the Korean store for the second time this weekend just so I can make this again asap.
Joyce says
Aweeeesome! 🙂 So happy you liked it! Rice cakes are definitely one of my fave things to eat, isn’t the chewiness amaaazing? Buy a few packs (I assume you bought them frozen?) and store them in the freezer so you can have them anytime in a snap! That’s what I do! I store 3 packs in the freezer haha! 😀 and they last foreveeer in the freezer!
Fiona says
Just tried this recipe and it’s sooo good! I think the addition of dashi really works here. The result reminds me a lot of the kimchi yaki udon dish that is common in Japanese izakayas!
Joyce says
Makes me super duper happy to hear you liked it Fiona! 🙂 I totally agree with you, the dashi gives it that something special – I especially love the smokiness in it. I love adding a bit of this to all my noodle dishes, you should try that out too! 🙂
Heather @ Dredge and Drizzle says
Hi Joyce. This dish looks so delicious! And it has interesting ingredients I haven’t tasted before so you have piqued my interest for sure. I love trying new things. Also, your photography is gorgeous!
Joyce says
Thanks so much for your kind words Heather! 🙂 I love trying new things myself so anything I do I love spreading it to everyone around! 😀 I’m so happy you thought this was interesting! 🙂
Josie says
Your cooking with food technique is really amazing! I love the way you created the food like ingredients, food styles etc etc.
This time it’s the Kimchi stir mix with rice noodles is absolutely stunning, reason being the way you made the Kimchi ( I would have said is your fantastic homemade Kimchi !! I do believe you have put an outstanding effort into it — A STAR WINNER !! ) Because that your tasty Kimchi is very different from outside there. I’m a fancy Kimchi lover. I can tell that I would be obsessed to it.
I would do follow your way to do it. Thanks.
Joyce says
Thank you for your kind words. I am so glad you find my steps useful! I am a very visual person myself so I like to see how things are done and the type of ingredients are used 🙂 and yes! I made the kimchi! I’m surprised you caught that!