Rice Cake and Vegetable Stir-Fry
Rice cake and vegetable stir-fry is a tasty and easy meal option. Thin, round rice cake pieces are stir-fried with vegetables, resulting in a wholesome dish that can be enjoyed on its own. It’s so simple to prepare that you’ll want to make it again and again!
I have a weakness for rice cake dishes and this rice cake and vegetable stir-fry is one of my go-to meals. The chewy and sticky rice cakes are incredibly satisfying – I could easily eat an entire pan of spicy Korean rice cakes by myself if I let myself indulge.
One of the most popular Korean rice cake dishes is called “tteokbokki (떡볶이)”. It’s made with rice cake sticks simmered in a spicy Korean chili paste sauce with anchovy stock and is a common and traditional dish in Korea.
I also have a spin-off version of pan fried rice cake recipe that has different flavor profile. If you enjoy snacking on Korean recipes,, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Why This Recipe Stands Out
- This recipe features thin rice cake rounds instead of thick sticks, allowing them to cook faster and making it easy to stir-fry the rice cakes for a quick, satisfying dish.
- You can use any stir-fry-friendly vegetables you have on hand, making it a great way to use up leftovers or everyday produce. I use cabbage, onion, and Asian chives, but carrots, zucchini, or peppers work just as well.
- Perfect for sharing, this recipe is easy to customize. Make a small batch for yourself or double it to serve a crowd—it’s versatile and delicious!
How to make rice cake and vegetable stir-fry
Prepare the rice cakes
Bring the water to a boil, add the rice cake rounds and cook until they float to the top.
Drain the rice cakes and coat them with oils. I used a mixture of wild sesame oil and grapeseed oil. You can use any cooking oils of your choice. If you don’t like the fragrance of sesame oil, you can omit it.
The reason you will want to coat the rice cake rounds with oil is so that they don’t stick to each other. These rounds are very sticky, they tend to stick to the pan when you stir-fry. By coating them with oil, you can prevent that.
Make soy chili sauce
The entire dish is flavored with this soy chili sauce.
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Stir-fry all together
Heat a little bit of oil in a skillet, add the vegetables and stir-fry until crisp tender. Add the rice cakes and stir-fry them again for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the sauce, chives and mix well. You can omit the chives if you don’t have them.
Continue to stir-fry until everything is incorporated, about 2 minutes. I like to add fresh chili to give more spicy kick. It is a personal preference.
Sprinkle lots of toasted sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil.
I like the simplicity of this rice cake stir-fry. The chewy yet soft texture is something that I often crave for. And the spicy level in this recipe is perfect for me.
If you want the less or more spicy, you can always adjust the amount of chili flakes according to you taste. I also love the crunchiness that cabbage adds. Hope you can give it a try.
Rice Cake and Vegetable Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 1 lb rice cake rounds
- 1 tbsp wild sesame oil, or sesame oil
- 2 tbsp cooking oil, divided
- 1/2 small onion, sliced
- 1/4 green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1-2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 cup sliced Asian chives, optional
- 1 fresh chili, sliced (optional)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp corn syrup
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1-2 tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 tbsp sweet rice wine (mirim)
- dashes black pepper
- 2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the rice cakes and boil until the they float to the top, about 2-3 minutes. Drain the rice cake and put them in mixing bowl. Add the wild sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil; toss them well.
- In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, corn syrup, sugar chili flakes, rice wine, and pepper. Set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, cabbage, and garlic; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice cakes and continue to stir-fry for another 1 minute.
- Add the soy sauce mixture, chives, and chili (if using)to the skillet and toss well; continue to stir-fry for another minute or until everything is well incorporated. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Can you make it in advance and reheat it?
Hi Sara
Unfortunately, with any rice cake dishes it is better to serve right after it is cooked. Hope this helps. Thank you.
Thank you! I made this dish tonight and loved it. I have to avoid gluten so I substituted 2 tbsp coconut aminos plus 1 tbsp fish sauce instead of the soy sauce. I love the texture of the rice cake. One of our guests who also can’t eat gluten loved this dish as well.
Glad that you liked this dish. I thank you and your guests for enjoying my recipe.
what can you replace with corn syrup?
You can just skip it, and it won’t make much difference in taste
I made it tonight for dinner and it is SO delicious! Your recipes never disappoint. Thank you!
Hi Holly. Do you use frozen rice cakes?
I used chilled, vacuum sealed rice cakes.
This looks like it’s a bit spicy — my kind of food. 🙂 Terrific recipe — thanks so much.
I love these chewy rice cakes too. So flavourful and moreish!