I can’t believe that Chef K and I have created over 100 recipes already! I keep worrying that we’re going to run out of ideas, but there is so much inspiration right here in Seattle.
This recipe is brought to you by a recent visit to Joule, one of Rachel Yang’s Seattle-based Korean fusion restaurants.
I raved about Joule’s fantastic rice cake dish so much, Chef K had to try the lamb version at Joule’s sister restaurant Trove. While there, we were seated next to the open kitchen which was lucky because we got to see the chef preparing the rice cakes.
We thought it was such a great idea to start by cooking the ground meat in a patty. That way, it’s bonded together. When you do break it up, you still get these nice chunks of meat instead of just little bits of the chorizo. It also gives the chorizo a crisp on the outside which improves the range of texture.
This dish is also quite spicy, so feel free to adjust the gochujang to your spice levels. That’s really the best part of home cooking…being able to adjust food to your own taste preference. You can even try adding different pickled veggies, maybe some pickled cabbage instead!
You cook for you, so get creative and make it the way you want.
Keep your chorizo in your rice cakes, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Spicy Rice Cake with Chorizo
Ingredients
Sauce
- ½ cup gochujang
- ½ cup mirin
- ½ cup sake
- 3 tbsp tamari
- 1 tsp ginger finely grated
- 1 tsp garlic minced
4 tbsp canola oil, divided plus some extra as needed
2 lbs rice cakes
1 lb chorizo
1 bunch lacinato kale, chopped
1 cup pickled radish, sliced
1 cup water, divided
3 green onions, thinly sliced
Sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
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Soak your rice cakes in a large bowl of water for an hour. Make sure to break apart the rice cakes, so they aren’t stuck together in clumps.
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For the sauce, whisk together gochujang, mirin, and sake in a medium bowl. Add the tamari, ginger, and garlic, then whisk until you have a nice smooth sauce.
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Drain the water from your rice cakes.
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For cooking, you’ll want to do two batches in your skillet/wok to ensure that you have a nice even layer of rice cakes and chorizo when cooking. Heat up your wok over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil and half the chorizo on one side of the skillet. You want to leave your chorizo in a patty, so that one side will brown first. Add half the rice cakes in an even layer around your chorizo patty. Let cook for 3 minutes or until your chorizo starts to brown. (Make sure that there is enough oil in your pan so that there is always an even layer. Add more as needed).
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After 3 minutes, break apart chorizo and rice cakes with a wooden spoon and toss them together. Cook for another 3 minutes, add more oil as needed.
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Add half the kale, radish, and sauce, along with ½ cup water. Stir until well combined. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
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Top with the green onions and some sesame seeds before serving.
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Repeat steps 4 – 7 with remaining ingredients.