Shanghai Rice Cake in Soup 上海湯年糕

Ingredients

• 750 g Rice cake (, ready to cook)
• 400 g Napa cabbage
• 250 g Shanghai salted pork belly
• 1 tsp Oil
• 1 ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Abalone sauce ((or oyster sauce))
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 litre Chicken broth

Steps

1. 1

   Soak rice cakes in water for 10 minutes to separate. If using dried rice cakes, follow soaking instructions on the package. After 10 minutes, dry in a colander and set aside

2. 2

   Wash napa cabbage and cut into 2 cm wide pieces. Set aside

3. 3

   Slice Shanghai salted pork belly into thin pieces. Set aside I bought this meat at an Asian supermarket in the refrigerated area where they sell Chinese sausage. You can also use any meat you’d like.

4. 4

   Heat a pot and add 1 tsp oil

5. 5

   Add sliced Shanghai salted pork belly and fry for 30 seconds

6. 6

   Add napa cabbage and mix with the pork belly

7. 7

   Add 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

8. 8

   Add 1 litre of chicken broth and cover with lid until the contents come to a boil

9. 9

   Add rice cake, add 1 tbsp abalone sauce, mix well, separate the rice cakes that are sticking to each other

10. 10

    Cover with lid until it boils again

11. 11

    Stir to prevent rice cake from sticking to the bottom of the pot

12. 12

    Try the broth, add salt accordingly. Since the saltiness of the salted pork and the broth may vary between brands, you should decide how much salt to add. I added 1 ½ tsp of salt to mine

13. 13

    Reduce the heat to low, cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes.

14. 14

    Try a piece of rice cake to make sure you like the consistency. If it’s too chewy, let it cook for another 5 minutes and check again

15. 15

    Once the rice cakes are done, remove from heat

16. 16

    Serve I topped my rice cakes with some Pickled Mustard Greens to give it a little hint of sweet and sour