China South of the Clouds

Here’s another (even simpler) way of cooking Yunnan’s rice cakes (or, if you’re cooking in the states, Korean-style “rice ovalettes”). This recipe traditionally uses Yunnan’s spectacular hams, but at home I use Spanish jamón Serrano, because the flavor and texture are very similar. When you look for the ham, you’ll want to find a large chunk of the meat that you can cut yourself, not pieces that are already sliced paper thin. Thankfully, my favorite market offers this kind of cut for mail order (see link above).

Here’s what I wrote about this recipe in the book: “The Guandu Er’kuai Techniques Exhibition Center offers visitors a glimpse of the traditional way of making Yunnan’s unique er kuai rice cakes. The small space in Guandu Old Town (a tourist spot filled with shops and food stands just south of downtown Kunming) displays a massive wooden board suspended horizontally on ropes, with a large pestle attached to one end. A few times a day, visitors are invited to help make er kuai the old way—by stomping on the board rhythmically so that the pestle crushes and kneads cooked rice that is placed into a stone basin below.

“To taste the finished er kuai, head to one of the town’s nearby eateries. In this dish, it is stir-fried with Xuanwei ham, from eastern Yunnan, along with local pickled mustard greens, scallions, and garlic chives. The combination is rich and salty and wonderful.”

3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 3/4 oz. Yunnan ham or Spanish Jamón Serrano, cut into thin slices and then into 1-inch squares (1/4 cup)
3/4 lb. Yunnan rice cakes (er kuai), cut into slices 1/8 inch thick (2 1/2 cups), or the same amount of sliced Korean rice cakes, sometimes labeled “ovalettes”
3 scallions, white and light green parts only, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup pork broth (or any broth you have on hand)
1/4 cup garlic chives cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tbsp. pickled mustard greens (homemade is ideal, but store-bought will be totally fine)
2 tsp. light soy sauce

In a wok, heat the oil over a high flame until very hot. Add the ham and stir-fry, stirring and flipping constantly, until the meat begins to brown a bit, about 30 seconds.

Add the rice cakes and scallions and stir to mix for a few seconds, then add the Pork Broth and stir-fry, stirring and flipping the ingredients frequently and using a wok shovel to break apart any pieces that stick together, until the rice cakes begin to soften, about 30 seconds.

Add the garlic chives, Pickled Mustard Greens, and soy sauce and stir- fry until the chives begin to wilt and the rice cakes are tender, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving plate and drain away any excess oil.

Photo: Josh Wand (from Cooking South of the Clouds—Recipes and Stories from China’s Yunnan Province)