hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese comfort food classics with a shot at one of my absolute favorite noodle dishes from my childhood, which is a rice cake and pork stir fry known as “chao nian gao.” For those unfamiliar, a chao nian gao most prominently features a sliced coin shaped rice cake known as nian gao, which has been stir fried with strips of pork loin and veggies (today we’ll be doing ours with baby bok choy and shiitake mushrooms). Today we are using the Korean equivalent of nian gao known as “tteok” because i literally went to five grocery stores in Chinatown and every store said they were sold out of nian gao. How does that happen? I don’t know. The point being, obviously a rice cake is not a complicated concept, so as you might expect, it occurs throughout many different Asian food cultures, including both Korean and Chinese cuisine, which is really handy.

In addition, we’ll be pairing this all with a classic rich caramel sauce combination of dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and black vinegar to create the thick and rich sauce that is iconic to this dish. Then finally, we’ll be making use of this absolutely gorgeous piece of pork loin courtesy of Taylor’s Sausage in Oakland, paired with a bit of baking soda and food science for the most tender piece of pork that you will ever create. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger

  • 1lb nian gao

  • 1lb pork loin

  • 8oz baby bok choy

  • 6 shiitake mushrooms

INGREDIENTS (marinade)

  • 1/2 tsp baking soda + water

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

INGREDIENTS (sauce)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine

  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 2 tbsp black vinegar

  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside

  • FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside

  • COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside

  • REHYDRATE the shiitake mushrooms for 10 minutes, then remove and reserve the mushroom water

  • SLICE the shiiake mushrooms into strips, set aside

  • SOAK the nian gao in boiling water for 5 minutes until tender, then strain and keep in cold water until ready to use

  • SLICE the pork loin thinly, then combine with baking soda and water mixture for 15 minutes

  • DRAIN the excess baking soda, then combine the pork with the remaining marinade ingredients and let marinate for 30 minutes

ON THE STOVE

  • HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 1/4 cup peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the pork to the wok with as much contact with the wok surface as possible, then sear for 2 1/2 minutes before tossing for an additional 2 minutes

  • CLEAR some space in the wok and add the garlic and ginger, then bloom until fragrant for about 15 seconds and toss to combine

  • ADD the bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, and nian gao to the wok, then toss to combine

  • ADD the sauce and reserved mushroom water to the wok, then let braise for 5 minutes until a thick sauce forms

  • REMOVE from heat and serve immediately (do not refrigerate any leftovers)

 

tagged with woo can cook, chao nian gao, stir fried rice cakes, chinese cooking, wok cooking, stir fry

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