Fermented Rice Cakes with Osmanthus — My Mother-in-Law Has Made This for Ten Years
By Vivian
Why You'll Love It
You fall for this rice cake after one bite. No flour, and if you have rice at home you can make it — the last time I did, the whole family gave it a thumbs-up.
I didn't make much then, and everyone said there wasn't enough, so I'm making it again today. It tastes like autumn.
Ingredients
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| 1¼ cups (250 g) rice | 2½ tbsp (40 g) fermented rice wine (the grains) |
| scant ½ cup (100 ml) water | 3 tbsp + 1 tsp (40 g) sugar |
| 1 tsp (2.5 g) osmotolerant instant yeast | |
| For the Top | |
|---|---|
| dried osmanthus flowers, as needed | a little corn oil, for greasing the pan |
Ingredient Notes
- Use regular short-grain rice, not glutinous — glutinous turns so sticky you can't cut it.
- Spoon out just the grains of the rice wine; too much liquid makes the slurry thin.
- Wait until the slurry drops to about 86°F (30°C) — just warm to the touch — before adding the yeast.
- 3 tbsp + 1 tsp (40 g) sugar is lightly sweet; cutting it slows the ferment.
- Scatter the osmanthus on the surface just before steaming, so it doesn't sink.
Instructions
-
1
Soak the rice overnight, drain it well, and put it in a blender with the rice wine grains and the water. Run it twice on the fruit/vegetable setting.
-
2
Pour the slurry out and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Fresh from the blender it's still hot — don't add the yeast yet or you'll kill it.
-
3
Once it's down to about 86°F (30°C), stir in the yeast, cover, and let it rise until doubled.
-
4
Stir it down to deflate, let it rise once more, then deflate again. Brush a little corn oil on the bottom of the container.
-
5
Pour the slurry in, scatter dried osmanthus over the top, and steam over boiling water for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and rest 30 minutes.
-
6
Let it cool to just warm, unmold, and cut into small pieces.
-
7
If you have rice, you can make this. A little rice wine and osmanthus and it's fragrant and delicious, and the method is simple. It comes out soft and chewy, and stays soft and chewy even once it's cold.
Recipe Notes
Fermented Rice Cakes with Osmanthus
Rice cakes made with fermented rice wine: no flour, soaked rice blended to a slurry and fermented twice, scattered with dried osmanthus and steamed. Soft and chewy, and still soft when cold.
Time Needed
Plus soaking the rice overnight.
Prep Ahead
- Soak the rice the night before, drain it, then blend it with the rice wine and water — run the blender twice.
- 【Yield】1¼ cups (250 g) rice fills one 6-inch square pan, about 8 pieces.
- 【Key ratios】Rice to water ≈ 250:100, with 2½ tbsp (40 g) rice wine grains only, 3 tbsp + 1 tsp (40 g) sugar, and 1 tsp (2.5 g) osmotolerant yeast.
- 【Heat】Steam over boiling water 30 minutes, then rest off the heat another 30 minutes — skip that and it collapses.
- 【Rising】Twice: rise to double, deflate, rise again, deflate, then into the pan.
- 【Storage & reheating】Refrigerate 3 days, re-steam 5 minutes. Soft and chewy even cold.
- 【Common problems】Yeast added to hot slurry dies. Not resting long enough and it collapses the moment you open the lid.
Nutrition (per 100 g, estimated)
| Calories | about 230 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | about 5 g |
| Fat | about 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | about 48 g |
| of which sugars | about 13 g |
| Fiber | about 0.6 g |
| Sodium | about 35 mg |
Estimated from the ingredient amounts, not lab tested. One piece is about 2.5 oz (70 g), roughly 161 kcal, calculated at 4 / 9 / 4 kcal per g of protein / fat / carbs.