Easy to make sticky and chewy stir-fried rice cakes recipe made with kimchi and thin slices of pork. A flavorful and delicious combination that takes 15 minutes to make!
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If you're looking for a quick and easy recipe with lots of flavors then you're at the right place! Especially if you have some kimchi in the fridge, that you are looking to use up!
This stir-fried rice cake recipe uses thinly sliced rice cakes that cook quickly but still have that wonderful satisfying chewy texture.
Old and mature kimchi that has been fermenting for a long time in your fridge will work best for this recipe because it is PACKED with flavor. You'll know it's very well-fermented kimchi by its fizziness. That being said, new kimchi will also work well for this recipe.
If you have leftover meat, it'll make this recipe even quicker and easier to make! If you don't have leftover meat, then pork shoulder/pork butt, bacon, or pork belly will work as well.
If you're looking for something a bit more saucy and spicy, then definitely try out my classic Easy Tteokbokki (Korean Spicy Rice Cakes) recipe, where I show you how to make it the traditional way and a shortcut way as well so you can make it in 20 minutes!
What is Kimchi?
In its simplest form, kimchi is made with nappa cabbage, Korean red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru), garlic, and salt but there are many different ways to make kimchi! Some use salted shrimp, some use fish sauce or shrimp paste. They will all taste slightly different so don't be afraid to try them all out!
Not only is it delicious and adds a lot of flavor to any dish you use it on, but it is also good for you because it uses Lacto-fermentation (a type 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!
Kimchi goes really well in soups, stir-fries, sandwiches, and noodles. You can also eat it as-is as a banchan like they commonly do in Korean cuisines.
When you first try it, you might be surprised at how pungent and strong flavors are. It's very garlicky, a little spicy, sour, and depending on long the kimchi has fermented it might even be a little bit fizzy.
Strong kimchi that has been fermented for a long time and is fizzy is best used for cooking stews, soups like Kimchi Soondubu (Spicy Korean Tofu Stew), and stir-fries.
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.
For this recipe, I like to use the frozen rice cake slices instead of the tubular ones since they are more bite-sized and cook more quickly. Rice cakes are usually located in the freezer aisle of any Asian grocery store but they can also be found in the fridge section as well with the fresh noodles.
[optional] Bonito flakes are paper-thin shavings of fermented and smoked tuna that are high in umami and smoky flavors. They go great as a garnish on any kind of dish to give it a nice smoky flavor.
I added dashi powder to this dish for additional smokiness and umami but that is completely optional as well but highly recommended. Dashi powder stores very well and lasts a long time and is a staple in a lot of Asian recipes to give it a boost in flavors so it's worth it to keep a small jar around.
How to Make Stir-Fried Kimchi Rice Cakes
Preparation
- 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.
Stir-Frying Everything Together
- Preheat the pan to 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.
- 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 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!
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Recipe Card
Stir-Fried Kimchi Rice Cakes
Recipe Notes
- You can substitute pork shoulder for pork belly, bacon or any type of protein.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups kimchi (roughly chopped)
- 1 small carrot (cut into thin match sticks)
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 1 ½ cups rice cake (frozen or fresh)
- 1 tablespoon butter
Pork Marinade
- 1 lb pork shoulder or pork butt (sliced)
- 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce (to marinate the pork)
Sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon mirin
- 5 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon hondashi dashi powder
- 3 teaspoon hot water
Toppings (Optional)
- sesame seeds
- green onions
- bonito flakes
Instructions
Preparation
- 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 tap water for 1 minute
- Slice pork and marinate in soy sauce for a few minutes
Stir Frying Everything 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 and cooked. (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
*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*
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mikaela | wyldflour says
I REALLY need to get out of my comfort zone and give this recipe a try! Lol. The flavors sound fantastic. And I'm sure that if kimchi = garlic punch to face, then kimchi and I will get along great. I've actually never used dashi powder before . . . easy to find?
Joyce says
Kimchi is quite garlicky so if you like garlic, you might possibly like this as well! 😀 Dashi powder might be a tad harder to find, but I'd say it'd be easiest to find it at an asian grocery store or online. If you can't find it, you can omit it you just lose a bit of the smoky flavour. 🙂
Marie @ Yay! For Food says
You had me at 1 pan and 15 minutes! 🙂 I love kimchi and the addition of bonito flakes is amazing!
Joyce says
Less dishes is always a great thing. I'm usually a grump when I'm hungry so 15 minutes of waiting and being a grumpy pants is not bad!! haha 🙂
heather (delicious not gorgeous) says
i had some dukbokki (those korean rice cakes with spicy red sauce) yesterday, but was disappointed; it was just rice cakes, sauce and half a boiled egg for $7 (not to mention that there were only 14 rice cakes...). so now i'm craving rice cakes, and this sounds delicious! kimchi and bonito are some of my favorite ingredients, and i love that you combined them with rice cakes.
Joyce says
14 rice cakes? :O I love rice cakes too, and 14 would not do at all. 🙁
Oh I never even thought of a boiled egg! haha I bet that'd go amazing with this quick meal!
Danielle says
I love kimchi and always have a tub of it in the fridge. I like to eat it right out of the container like ice cream. And rice cakes...so delicious! You've got all the right things in this dish!
Joyce says
Oh I'm so happy to hear I am not the only one that eats it like ice cream haha! 🙂
Riva says
I too, always have kimchi in my fridge! Its one of my favorite foods in the whole wide world, I absolutely love it! Now I have a new way to use it--this sounds amazing.
Joyce says
It packs quite a punch, and so easy to play up meals! 🙂
Alyssa @ A Bite of Inspiration says
This recipe is right up my alley! I love rice cakes-- they have such a delightfully chewy texture that you don't get from regular rice noodles. And the kimchi-- YUM! 🙂
Joyce says
Me too! Such a satisfying chew right? 🙂
romain | glebekitchen says
I love the korean japanese fusion going on in this dish (especially with the added bonito). Also I think using pork shoulder is a much better idea that loin. Lots of flavour going on here. I bet this would be awesome on top of stir-fried rice noodles as well if I don't have time to grab the rice cakes.
Joyce says
Thanks so much for your kind words! I definitely prefer the shoulder over any other cuts on the pork, so much flavour! Yes this would definitely be good with noodles, even rice!