Popo's Kitchen - Shanghai Stir-fried Rice Cakes for Lunar New Year

Text and Photographs by Billy Cheung

With the Lunar New Year coming up shortly, my family and I have a lot to prepare for the celebrations. Cleaning the house, filling red pockets and buying all the necessary ingredients for our new year dinner! Our big feast usually consists of braised pork, steamed fish, stir-fried gluten cakes, tofu and veggies and much, much more. It takes my family more than 2 whole days to prepare and cook everything, but it’s always worth the work and the wait.

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During this busy time, we get tunnel vision and only focus on the big day, and forget to have breakfast or lunch. Fortunately, my grandma always makes sure everyone in the family is well fed. For this time of the year, one simple yet amazingly delicious and filling dish she makes is the Shanghai stir fried rice cakes, also known as 炒年糕!

In Chinese, niangao means sticky cake, but it also sounds the same as the words meaning “year” and “tall”. Many associate eating rice cakes during the new year with prosperity and the idea of growing older. Typically, the niangao associated with the Lunar New Year is the Cantonese version, which is a sweet glutinous rice cake that is sliced into pieces and then pan-fried, with a similar texture to mochi, but today I’m going to be sharing my grandma’s savoury Shanghainese version. We’ll be using pork jowl meat since it has an amazing texture that’s similar to bacon, but this dish can be made with vegetarian ingredients too!

“Many associate eating rice cakes during the new year with prosperity and the idea of growing older.”

— Billy Cheung

Here’s my Grandma’s Recipe for shanghainese rice cakes

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

500g pork jowl meat (or pork shoulder meat)

1 pack of frozen rice cakes, sliced

3 large eggs

8 pieces of cooked bamboo shoots

100g of frozen soy beans

1 head of napa cabbage

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tbs dark soy sauce

½ tbs chicken bouillon

Salt to taste

Marinade for meat

½ tbs dark soy sauce

½ tbs corn starch

½ tbs Shaoxing cooking wine

½ tbs white pepper

1. Slice pork jowl into thin strips and add in the white pepper, dark soy, cooking wine and cornstarch and let it marinate for 15 minutes.

2. Slice cabbage into thin strips and submerge in a large bowl of cold water for a few minutes and then drain to remove dirt.

3. Beat the 3 eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt and then fry it in a pan on medium heat. Form a flat pancake with the eggs and then carefully flip it over to maintain the shape. Once the egg has solidified, remove from the pan.

4.Julienne the bamboo shoots and egg pancake and set aside.

5.In a separate pot, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add in the frozen rice cakes and parcook them for 5 minutes. Remove and drain excess water.

6. In a large wok on high heat, add a tsp of oil and stir fry the pork jowl meat until almost completely cooked then remove into a bowl, leaving the oil in the pan.

7. Then add the frozen edamame and bamboo shoots into the pan and stir fry for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan again.

8. Add a bit more oil and a tbsp of salt and then stir fry the cabbage on high until the cabbage is wilted.

9.Add back the meat, bamboo shoots and edamame into the cabbage. Then add the Oyster sauce, dark soy and chicken bouillon and cook for a few minutes until everything is well combined.

10.Remove everything from the pan, leaving only the cooking liquid and then add in the rice cakes. Cook until the rice cakes separate and soften up and then add the vegetables and meat back into the pan. Mix everything well and cook for another 5 minutes.

11.Turn off heat and stir in the sesame oil and slowly fold it into the rice cakes. Transfer the dish into a large plate and top off the rice cakes with the julienned eggs.

Try making this dish at home for you and your family and tag us at fetechinoise! Have a wonderful new year! 新年快乐!

About the writer, Billy Cheung

Billy is a member of the Fête Chinoise team and an enthusiast of all things related to food and cooking. His passion developed when he was young since he grew up in a family of restauranteurs and cooks. He believes food and culture go hand in hand and wants to share his stories, opinions, and passions with everyone.