A must-try Lunar New Year treat: Sweet and spicy crispy rice cakes
Rice cake is a representative food of the freshness of the lunar calendar. This year, I will share with you a different way to eat rice cake - sweet, spicy and crispy rice cake . Every bite is sweet and spicy, crispy on the outside and glutinous on the inside . Come and try it!
About Sweet and Spicy Crispy Rice Cake
Sweet and spicy crispy rice cake is a very special delicacy. It is made of rice cake as raw material, with minced garlic, chili, tomato sauce and sesame and other ingredients. It tastes sweet, spicy and elastic. You can taste unique flavor in every bite. taste.
Sweet and spicy crispy rice cakes are perfect for eating during the Lunar New Year. They are quick to make and can be easily made even if you are a novice. They are suitable for entertaining friends or holding events.
The meaning of eating rice cakes during the New Year
Eating rice cakes during the Chinese New Year has a long history and contains beautiful meanings, which are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Rising every year: The Chinese character for "gao" in Nian Gao is homophonic with the Chinese character for "high", so eating Nian Gao during the New Year means that in the new year, whether in career, study or life, you will be able to rise step by step and achieve more outstanding achievements. This reflects people's desire for personal growth and progress, and also reflects their good wishes for the prosperity of the family, society and even the country.
Money rolling in: Rice cakes come in a variety of colors, with yellow and white rice cakes representing gold and silver respectively, signifying wealth. Eating rice cakes is believed to bring wealth and good luck, symbolizing that wealth will roll in like a river in the coming year.
Happiness and auspiciousness: Rice cakes symbolize happiness and auspiciousness, implying people's vision and expectation for a better life. By tasting rice cakes, people express their blessings and expectations for the new year, hoping that they and their families will have a successful career and a happy life in the new year.
Reunion and Family: The stickiness of rice cakes symbolizes the unity and family affection among family members. During the Chinese New Year, families sit together and share rice cakes, symbolizing family reunion and harmony.
Needed and Substitutions
Main Ingredients
Rice cake slices: The core ingredient of the crispy sweet and spicy rice cake, providing a soft and glutinous texture.
Additional ingredients
Minced garlic: has a special aroma, provides a strong garlic flavor, and enhances the overall flavor.
Chili powder: provides spicy taste, the main source of the "spicy" taste in sweet and spicy flavors.
Sesame: It increases the aroma and makes the dishes taste richer. It also serves as a garnish to enhance the appearance of the dishes.
Seasoning
White sugar: used to add sweetness and balance the spiciness of the chili peppers.
Light soy sauce: provides a salty and fresh taste, enriching the flavor of the sauce.
Tomato paste: Provides sweetness and a distinct tomato flavor, making the sweet and sour taste of the sweet chili sauce more delicious.
Hot sauce: Enhances the spicy taste. Different types of hot sauce have different flavors.
Cooking oil: used for frying rice cake slices to form a crispy crust.
Substitutions:
Rice cake slices: can be replaced with long rice cake strips.
Minced garlic: can be replaced with chopped onion.
Chili powder: can be replaced with fresh chili or chili pepper.
Sesame seeds: You can use crushed peanuts instead.
White sugar: Honey can be used instead.
Light soy sauce: Dark soy sauce or steamed fish soy sauce can be used instead.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
-
·350g rice cake slices
Additional Ingredients
-
·30g minced garlic
-
·20g chili powder
-
·15g sesame seeds
Seasonings
-
·1 spoon of sugar
-
·1 tablespoon soy sauce
-
·1 tablespoon tomato paste
-
·1 tablespoon hot sauce
-
·20ml cooking oil
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Fry the rice cake slices:
Pour a proper amount of cooking oil into the pan, turn on the heat, add the rice cake slices, and fry over medium-low heat until both sides are golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Step 2
Prepare sweet and spicy sauce:
Add appropriate amounts of chili powder, sesame seeds, sugar, light soy sauce, tomato sauce, and hot sauce into the bowl in turn, then pour in a little water.
Use chopsticks or a spoon to mix well to create a unique sweet and spicy sauce.
Step 3
Stir-fry the minced garlic:
Heat another pan with oil, add minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.
Step 4
Cook the sauce:
After the minced garlic is fried until fragrant, pour the prepared sweet and spicy sauce into the pot and cook over medium heat.
Cook until the sauce thickens slightly and reaches the ideal juicy state.
Step 5
Stir-fried rice cake:
Pour the fried rice cake slices into the pan and stir-fry with the thick sweet and spicy sauce so that each piece of rice cake is evenly coated with the sauce.
Step 6
Remove from the pan and serve:
Cook until the sauce becomes thicker and tightly coats the rice cake slices.
The delicious sweet and spicy crispy rice cake is ready.
Tips for Success
Tips for frying rice cake slices: Add the right amount of oil. If there is too little oil, the rice cake will easily stick to the pan, and if there is too much oil, it will be too greasy. After the oil is heated, add the rice cake slices and fry them slowly over medium-low heat to ensure even heating. Turn the cakes over frequently. The rice cake slices fried in this way will have a golden and crispy outer skin and a soft and glutinous inner texture, which is the most ideal taste.
Tips for mixing sweet and spicy sauce: The proportions of various seasonings should be mixed according to the ingredients list to ensure a balance of sweet, spicy, salty and sour flavors. When adding water, add it in small amounts and multiple times to prevent the sauce from being too thin, which will affect the effect of the sauce. Stir thoroughly to make the seasoning fully dissolved and blended, making the taste more mellow.
Tips for stir-frying minced garlic: When heating up a pan with oil, do not use too much oil. Stir-fry over low heat to allow the minced garlic to slowly release its aroma. Avoid stir-frying over high heat and causing the garlic to burn. Otherwise, it will produce a bitter taste and affect the flavor of the whole dish.
Tips for cooking the sauce: Pour the sauce in and turn to medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent it from sticking. Keep an eye on the sauce and cook until it thickens slightly, which is enough to wrap the rice cakes without being too thick.
Stir-frying tips: After pouring in the rice cake slices, stir-fry quickly to evenly coat the rice cake slices with the sauce so that every bite can taste the sweet and spicy flavor. Continue cooking until the sauce becomes thicker, enhancing its adhesion and making the rice cake more flavorful.
More Fruit Desserts to Try
Chinese New Year Snack-Rice Cakes
Quick and Easy: Purple Sweet Potato in the Air Fryer
How to store and reheat
Storage Method
Refrigerated storage: Refrigerate the crispy sweet and spicy rice cake. Place the uneaten sweet and spicy crispy rice cake in a sealed container or plastic bag, squeeze out the air, put it in the refrigerator, adjust the temperature to about 2 - 4℃, and it can be stored for 1 - 2 days.
Frozen storage: If you want to store it for a long time, divide the sweet and spicy crispy rice cake into small portions, put them into sealed bags or fresh-keeping boxes respectively, try to expel the air and put them in the freezer of the refrigerator. The freezing temperature should be below -18℃.
Heating method
Microwave heating: Place the sweet and spicy crispy rice cake in a microwave-safe container, cover with a lid or plastic wrap (poke a few holes for ventilation), and heat over high heat for 1-2 minutes until the rice cake is soft and the sauce is heated through.
Heat the steamer: Add water to a pot and place a steaming rack on top. When the water is boiling, place the sweet and spicy crispy rice cake on a plate, cover the pot, and steam over medium heat. Steam refrigerated rice cakes for 5-8 minutes and frozen rice cakes for 10-15 minutes, until the rice cakes are soft and the sauce is hot.
Heat the pan: Lightly oil the pan, turn to low heat, add the sweet and spicy crispy rice cakes, and slowly heat, turning them over to evenly heat them, until they are soft and slightly crispy. This will take about 5 - 8 minutes for refrigerated rice cakes and 10 - 15 minutes for frozen rice cakes.
FAQs:
The solution is to add more oil, make sure the oil temperature reaches the appropriate temperature (usually about 60% hot) before putting in the rice cake slices, and turn them over when frying. You can also choose a non-stick pan to fry the rice cakes to reduce the possibility of sticking.
Increase the heat appropriately, but be careful not to overcook it to avoid burning it. Ensure sufficient frying time so that the rice cake slices can be fully dehydrated and become crispy.
Stir-fry quickly to ensure that every piece of rice cake is fully exposed to the sauce. You can also remove the pan from the heat and stir-fry after pouring in the rice cake slices to make the mixture more evenly mixed.
REVIEWS
