Growing up, this was always a treat whenever my grandmother would make them or my mom would buy it for me from a street food stall in Taiwan. It's traditionally made in individual rice bowls with plain rice cake on the bottom and topped with a savory crunchy mixture made up of salted turnip, ground pork, shitake mushrooms, dried shrimp. I love the crunchy texture of salted turnip. You can usually find the salted turnip in the refrigerated section of Chinese grocery store.
It used to be that only on special occasions my grandmother would make these. It's a lot of work plus a lot of rice bowls to wash afterwards. A few years ago, my mom gave me an easier recipe where you can bake it in a baking dish. It's so much easier. Once in awhile, I'll make this to satisfy my craving and reminisce about my childhood.
Taiwanese Steamed Rice Cake 碗稞
8oz rice flour (picture on right)
1.5c cold water
3.5c boiling water
3 tbsp salted turnip, rinsed, minced
1/4 ground pork
3 dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated, minced
2 tsp dried shrimp, rehydrated
2 tbsp fried scallions
1 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt to taste
sugar to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the measured cold water to the rice flour. Stir until there are no lumps. Then add the measured boiling water to the mixture. Stir well.
3. Pour mixture into greased 8X8 baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
4. While the rice cake is steaming in the oven, heat cooking oil in a saute pan over high heat. Add fried scallions, dried shrimp, mushrooms, dried turnip, ground pork, soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Add a few teaspoons of water if the mixture if too dry. Turn heat off immediately once the meat is cooked through.
5. Remove the rice cake from oven at 30 minutes. Add the stir-fried toppings to top of the rice cake. Recover with aluminum foil and place back in oven. Bake for additional 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clear from the rice cake.
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