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9 Responses to “Anyone knows how to cook this?”

1. babe_kl Says:
   May 25th, 2006 at 1:28 am

   in cantonese this is called “park kor meen” which is also known as “shanghai nien guo” to the shanghainese. my mom cooked this once in a while. i’ve never done it before but i roughly know how she prepares them.

   first you soak them accordingly. then you boiled them until al dente or to the texture you like. drain them and you can fry them ala KL’s hokkien mee style or just simply cook them this way http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2004/11/stir-fried-mee-hoon.html. hope this helps.

2. babe_kl Says:
   May 25th, 2006 at 1:31 am

   i forgot to show you how it looked like if you do it hokkien char style. pic very blur cos i used my old mobile phone http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2005/02/xin-nien-kwai-le.html

3. Aggie Says:
   May 25th, 2006 at 4:25 am

   That’s a Foochow dish! In Mandarin, it’s called ‘bai2 guo3 gan1′. My Shanghainese friend told me they eat it like nian gao in Shanghai, ie in deep fried pieces.

   Anyway, I’ve found a way of lessening the time needed to soak the rice cakes. Put the rice cakes in a container with some cold water, then add boiling water (so the water is very warm - towards the hot side). Change every now and then once the temperature drops until not warm. Usually, with these frequent changes of water, it takes me approximately half hour to get the rice cakes ready - and that’s in winter! You’ll know they’re ready when they’re al dente to the touch.

   The traditional Foochow method of cooking (my mom’s!) is as follows:
   1. Crack an egg into the prepared container of rice cakes and mix thoroughly*.
   2. Saute some garlic in oil until fragrant.
   3. Stir fry some ingredients - my mom usually uses leeks, some prepared minced meat, egg(s) and those tiny clams**.
   4. Pour the rice cakes in and stir fry.
   5. To season, use the ‘juices’ from the can of tiny clams +/- some light*** soy sauce and some oyster sauce.
   6. Remove from wok/pan. Don’t throw away the crispy parts - those are the best!

   * To make the end product sticky, otherwise omit this step. For me, I’ll always find non-sticky rice cakes to be not the real thing.
   ** Those really tiny black ones that come in a can.
   *** My aunt uses dark soy sauce instead of light soy sauce whereas sometimes I don’t even put soy sauce!

   This is a very versatile ingredient; I’ve found it works with pakchoy and pork luncheon meat too! Hope you like it!

4. Aggie Says:
   May 25th, 2006 at 4:27 am

   Oh ya, I forgot to tell you, with Malaysian weather, the rice cakes soften with just an overnight soak, so don’t worry too much!

5. rayhana Says:
   May 25th, 2006 at 3:05 pm

   i remember having this many years back in this place called Hoi Kee (back then I had not reverted to Islam yet).

   they cooked it ala hokkien style, with eggs and all, and it was really delicious! it was chewy but yummy! we went there often to have this particular dish. it was called ‘pak kor.’

   i remember my mom bought some, and well, we didn’t exactly follow the soaking instructions, and that is not a good idea.. the noodles just didn’t turn out.

6. earl-ku Says:
   May 25th, 2006 at 9:36 pm

   ha! Shaolin Tiger blogged bout this a few days ago … its Pak Kor

   some do it ala hokkien style with lots of lards while my place here Taman Muda, Cheras they fried it with dried shrimps like hokkien style, but with the dried shrimps la …

   very nice, but the one they used are fresh ones, like the pan meed dough, just that they cut it up before cooking …

7. mxin Says:
   September 27th, 2006 at 1:37 am

   oh my housemate cooked this for me once, she cooked with fish cakes and some veggies in thick sauce like ‘lorh’. she calls it ‘pek kuih’ which means white cake in hokkien. its chewy and tasted not bad

8. cchow Says:
   February 11th, 2007 at 9:08 am

   I’ve tried different methods of cooking this and the following works best for me: Buy “fresh” rice cakes in the vacuum pak instead of the completely dried variety. Place in glass bowl, cover with water and microwave until softened, but still chewy. Do not overcook or it will be mushy. Stir fry, with meat and vegetables as you would chow mein.

9. shawping Says:
   June 9th, 2007 at 5:47 pm

   Really appreciate the info here.

   Not sure if you are still interested in this. There are a lot of recipe for this Shanghai Nian Gao in chinese but few in English.

   http://www.emaid.hk/web/chi/recipe/recipe_details.jsp?dirGid=27182&gid=27759

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