Taiwanese Steamed Rice Cake 碗稞

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.

Steamed Pork Spareribs 粉蒸排骨

These are really good when they're steamed until the meat is about to fall off of the bones. The seasoned coarse rice powder soaks up all of the juice from the spareribs. I love it when my mom makes them. It's another comfort food that goes well with a bowl of rice.


Steamed Pork Spareribs 粉蒸排骨


1lb pork spareribs (in 1'' pieces, fat trimmed)
1 packet of coarse steamed meat powder (found in Asian supermarkets)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 green onion (cut into 1/2'' sections)
1 tbsp rice wine
chili sauce (optional)

1. Marinade spareribs with soy sauce, green onion, rice wine, and chili sauce for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. After removing excess marinade from the spareribs, sprinkle the coarse steamed meat powder over the marinaded spareribs right before steaming.
3. Steam over the stove for approximately one hour, longer if you desire more tenderness.

Tiger Magic Thermal Cooker

I received this as a gift from my mom when I was living by myself in graduate school. I have been using this for nine years now. I love this thing.

How it works: Boil the content in the inner pot, then remove from heat and place in the outer pot. Close lid and your food is done in a few hours. It requires no heat in the second phase! It retains the heat from the first phase and uses it to slow cook the content in the inner pot. I love that it saves energy. I can go to sleep or go out and not worry about something catching on fire.

Function: This is good for food that you have to slow cook, like stews, soups, stocks, congees...etc. I even make mashed potatoes in this thing.

Disadvantages: The heat dies off slowly over time. You're not suppose to use this thing for over six to eight hours since bacteria can start growing in the food. It is expensive, but I see it as an investment. You save the environment and your energy bill over time.

Overall, I am impressed with the durability and versatility of this product. It is definitely a must-have in my kitchen. I make most of my soups in this thing. I can't live without this in my kitchen.

Chicken Barley Soup

Now that there's a baby in the house, I have to be more strategic when it comes to meal planning. She's 12 months old but not quite eating what we're eating. I usually have to make her food separately from our dinner. I bought a whole fryer yesterday since it was on sale. I saved the dark meat for another meal and used the breast meat for her. Like many one year-olds, she has now become a very picky eater. Mealtimes can sometimes be tricky trying to figure out what she would eat.

I ended up making chicken barley soup for her tonight. It was a simple one-pot meal, perfect for a baby who likes the soft texture. She happily slurped the soup down tonight. What a relief!



Chicken Barley Soup

1 skinless split chicken breast
5 cups water
1 carrot, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 cup uncooked pearled barley

1. Poach the split breast in 5 cups of water. Boil for 5 minutes, then cover and let the chicken rest for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken, place in container with a loose cover on until cooler to handle. This will also help retain its moisture. Remove chicken breast from bone. Coarsely chop into bite-size.

2. Using the poaching liquid, boil carrots, celery, and barley for 2 minutes. Simmer on low heat for 40 minutes or until barley is soft.

3. Add chopped chicken breasts to soup. Serve! (I usually don't add salt to food for my baby.

For the leftover, I usually divide into smaller portions and freeze. It makes things easier when I don't have time to make her meals.

Wake-Up Call

I'm back.

I've been gone for awhile. It started with nausea from my pregnancy awhile back. The thought of keeping up with this blog made me nauseous. After she arrived, it was all about transitioning my life with her. I am happy to report that she has recently turned one. The first year was quite hectic as I learned how to juggle being home with her and everything else in my life. Things are much calmer now that we're more used to each other. Hence, this blog is resurrected.