I usually buy rice cakes at my local Asian market, but I want Trader Joe’s to keep stocking Asian ingredients along with the pre-made frozen meals. So I picked up a bag of Trader Joe’s rice cakes a couple of weeks ago. I made the Nian Gao from The Woks of Life, adding a red bell pepper because I always want more veg in my stir-fries.
What’s great about the Woks of Life recipe is that it’s a one-pan (well, wok) deal. It’s a pork stir-fry, but you could definitely sub in chicken or super firm tofu. I like the technique of the making a bed of vegetables, adding the rice cakes on top with some mushroom-soaking water to steam. I also added a couple teaspoons of Sichuan broad bean sauce (douban jiang). And next time, I’ll use a mix of fresh and dried shiitakes (just preference).
If you’re still here, tomorrow’s review is TJ’s new Coffee and Dark Chocolate Joe-Joe’s.