Shanghai Rice Cake in Soup 上海湯年糕 (shàng hǎi tāng nián gāo) is a good alternative to the Shanghai Fried Rice Cake if you’re feeling like something less oily and more soupy. It’s extremely easy to make and more interesting than regular soup noodles.
I added some store-bought Shanghai Salted Pork Belly because I feel it gives some authenticity to the dish and I like the unique saltiness that it adds to the broth. My first choice would be to use the prized Jinhua Ham 金華火腿. But that would completely break the bank! Shanghai Salted Pork Belly is good enough for me. I’ll usually keep some in my freezer for emergency cravings for soupy noodles. It’s also really good in congee.
But back to rice cakes….in China, there are all kinds of rice cake in soup. After all, the rice cake has been around for over 2,000 years. Some people add tomatoes, eggs, pork ribs, black fungus, vinegar or basically anything you can think of.
It’s also a must have during Chinese New Year since its name is literally “year cake”. Here is one of a few stories of how the rice cake got its name….
Around 2,500 years ago, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the emperor of Wu captured the emperor of Yue. Decades after, there was a new successor of Wu. He could not resist the temptations of a beautiful mistress gifted by the Yue Kingdom. She was one of the renowned Chinese ancient beauties, Xi Shi. Over the course of 17 years, she helped bring down the Wu Kingdom and restored glory to the Yue.
Prior to the fall of the Wu Kingdom, a high ranking official named Wu Zixu warned the Wu emperor of potential invasion from Yue. The emperor ordered Wu Zixu to build a brick wall surrounding the Wu Kingdom. However, Wu Zixu continued to advise the emperor of the revenge seeking Yue Kingdom. Possibly with the persuasion of Xi Shi, the Wu emperor became suspicious of Wu Zixu’s intentions and ordered his execution. Awaiting his execution, Wu Zixu told his family that he had no doubt that the Yue will besiege Wu. He told them that when the people are starving, dig three feet under the brick wall and you will find food.
After Wu Zixu died, everything he predicted came true. To avoid capture by Yue forces, the Wu emperor committed suicide. When there was no more food, they remembered Wu Zixu’s last words. They dug up dried bricks of dehydrated glutinous rice cake. Apparently, Wu Zixu had already prepared for the enemy cutting off their food supply and had buried bricks of rice cake during the building of the brick wall. The civilians survived but the Kingdom fell. Since this event took place around Chinese New Year, people started to call rice cake, “nian gao”, which translates to “(new) year steamed cake”. From then on, many people sliced rice cake into the shape of a brick to commemorate this noble official of Wu.
Make this simple Shanghai Rice Cake in Soup 上海湯年糕 dish during Chinese New Year and you will surely have good fortune and prosperity! At the very least, your belly will thank you! And why not have more rice cake for dessert? Try my Easy Chinese New Year Rice Cake recipe that’s sweet and delicious! To read more about the traditions and etiquettes of Chinese New Year, check out my Chinese New Year 101 page.
Shanghai Rice Cake in Soup 上海湯年糕
Ingredients
- 750 g Rice cake , ready to cook
- 400 g Napa cabbage
- 250 g Shanghai salted pork belly
- 1 tsp Oil
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Abalone sauce (or oyster sauce)
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 litre Chicken broth
Instructions
- Soak rice cakes in water for 10 minutes to separate. If using dried rice cakes, follow soaking instructions on the package. After 10 minutes, dry in a colander and set aside
- Wash napa cabbage and cut into 2 cm wide pieces. Set aside
- Slice Shanghai salted pork belly into thin pieces. Set aside
I bought this meat at an Asian supermarket in the refrigerated area where they sell Chinese sausage. You can also use any meat you’d like. - Heat a pot and add 1 tsp oil
- Add sliced Shanghai salted pork belly and fry for 30 seconds
- Add napa cabbage and mix with the pork belly
- Add 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- Add 1 litre of chicken broth and cover with lid until the contents come to a boil
- Add rice cake, add 1 tbsp abalone sauce, mix well, separate the rice cakes that are sticking to each other
- Cover with lid until it boils again
- Stir to prevent rice cake from sticking to the bottom of the pot
- Try the broth, add salt accordingly.
Since the saltiness of the salted pork and the broth may vary between brands, you should decide how much salt to add. I added 1 ½ tsp of salt to mine - Reduce the heat to low, cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes.
- Try a piece of rice cake to make sure you like the consistency. If it’s too chewy, let it cook for another 5 minutes and check again
- Once the rice cakes are done, remove from heat
- Serve
I topped my rice cakes with some Pickled Mustard Greens to give it a little hint of sweet and sour
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