Chinese Rice Cake Soup
User Reviews
5
Chinese Rice Cake Soup
Description
This soup recipe blends marinated lean pork strips with vegetables including julienned ginger, scallions, carrots, and Napa cabbage cooked in a chicken stock and water broth. The rice cakes, favored in various textures depending on their type—fresh, frozen, or dried—are added last and cooked until tender.
Flavored with light soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper, the broth supports the pork and vegetables while maintaining a clear, comforting base. The stir-fry steps before simmering help to deepen flavor layers and slightly wilt the cabbage, creating a pleasing mix of textures.
The dish suits large woks or thick-bottomed pots to handle the volume of liquid. Cooking times for rice cakes vary widely, requiring attention to their original state and thickness to achieve a tender finish without overcooking. The resulting soup is a balanced combination of meat, fresh vegetables, and tender chewy rice cakes.
Ingredients
For the meat & marinade:
- 8 ounces pork cut into small, thin strips, lean, or chicken
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce light
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon water
To assemble the soup:
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 4 lices ginger (julienned)
- 3 scallions (thinly sliced on an angle, white and green parts separated)
- 1 carrot thinly sliced, small
- 1 1/4 pounds Napa cabbage (stems cut into ½-inch pieces and leaves cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 4 cups chicken stock low sodium
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce light
- 1 pound rice cakes (oval-shaped slices preferred)
Instructions
- Combine the pork (or chicken) with the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, cornstarch, and water. Marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Preheat your wok until it starts to smoke lightly. Over high heat, add 2 tablespoons oil, and stir-fry the pork until browned. Remove the pork from the wok and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium, and add 2 more tablespoons oil to the wok, along with the ginger and the white parts of the scallions. Cook for 1 minute and add the carrots. Cook for another minute and add the napa cabbage. Stir fry everything together for a few minutes until the napa cabbage leaves are wilted.
- Add 4 cups low sodium chicken stock and 4 cups water. Bring everything to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the thick stems of the napa cabbage are tender.
- Add salt to taste, ½ teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon light soy sauce.
- Stir in the cooked pork, and sprinkle the rice cakes over the surface of the soup, along with green parts of the scallions. The rice cakes should be resting on top of the soup so they don’t sink into it and stick to the bottom of the wok/pot. Cover and cook for another minute, or as long as it takes to cook the rice cakes through (please see the Recipe Notes if you are using dried rice cakes). Salt to taste again and serve!
Notes
- This recipe requires a large wok or a large, thick-bottomed pot to handle 8 cups of liquid.
- Cooking times for rice cakes vary from 1 to 10 minutes depending on whether they are fresh, frozen, or dried, and their thickness.
- Fresh rice cakes cook in about 1-2 minutes, frozen ones may take longer and can be added directly or thawed ahead, and dried rice cakes should be soaked overnight before cooking.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 6Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 368 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 368kcal | 18% |
| Carbohydrates | 46g | 15% |
| Protein | 17g | 34% |
| Fat | 14g | 22% |
| Saturated Fat | 9g | 45% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 24mg | 8% |
| Sodium | 482mg | 20% |
| Potassium | 563mg | 12% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 2059IU | 41% |
| Vitamin C | 27mg | 30% |
| Calcium | 94mg | 9% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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