Learn how to cook this popular Penang's street food known as char koay kak or fried rice cake. I'm also sharing how you can make the rice cake from scratch.
Bring the water in a steamer to a boil. Wrap the lid with a cloth to prevent water condensation drips on the cake. If your lid is too near to the pan when you close it and you can't wrap with a cloth, cover the pan with aluminum foil later
Oil a 7 x 7 round or square tray with at least 1.5 inches in height. While waiting, combine rice flour, tapioca starch, and salt in a pot. Stir to combine. Add water and whisk to combine until the batter is smooth
Put the pot on the stove and cook over low-medium heat. Continue to whisk until you start feeling some lumps forming at the bottom of the pot and some stuck to your whisk. Turn off the heat immediately and remove from the heat and keep whisking. The batter will continue to thicken even after you remove from the heat and try to break the lumps but it's okay if it's not completely smooth. The batter will be lumpy (that's ok, it will even out during steaming), a bit thicker but still a pourable consistency. Don't cook until it thickens into a very thick paste or worst, a dough. The rice cake will be tough after steaming
Steaming:
Pour the batter into a prepared pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil if you can't wrap the lid of the steamer with a cloth to prevent condensation from dripping on the surface of the cake. Put in the steamer and steam for 30 minutes or until the top is no longer wet and firm to touch. Let it cool down completely, about 5-6 hours before attempting to cut
Stir-frying:
Cut the rice cake using a plastic knife or an oiled knife to prevent sticking. Cut into about 1-inch cube. You can cut it bigger or smaller. It's up to you
Preheat a large skillet or wok. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Add the rice cubes, in batches if necessary and let them sear until lightly golden brown on all sides, about 30 seconds on each side
Push the rice cake to the side. Add minced garlic ,chye poh, chili paste and stir fry for about 1 minute. Mix this around with the seared rice cubes. Push the rice mixture to the side again. Add the rest of the oil and crack in the eggs and let them cook for about 10 seconds undisturbed. When you see the eggs start to solidify at the bottom, stir to scramble the eggs. Add seasonings and stir to mix with the rice cakes. Add the sprouts and chives and stir fry for another 10-15 seconds or until the sprouts are heated through but still crunchy and not wilted
Turn off the heat. Dish the fried rice cake up into serving platters and serve immediately
Notes
The dark soy sauce I use is very dark in color and a little goes a long way. So you need to adjust accordingly if the dark soy sauce you use is not very dark, you can add a bit more and vice versa