Rice cake and vegetable stir-fry is a tasty and direct meal option. Thin, round rice cake pieces are stir-fried with vegetables, resulting in a wholesome dish that can be enjoyed on its own. It’s so unfussy to prepare that you’ll want to make it again and again!

We have a weakness for rice cake dishes and this rice cake and vegetable stir-fry is one of our go-to meals. The chewy and sticky rice cakes are incredibly satisfying – we could easily eat an entire pan of spicy Korean rice cakes by myself if we let myself indulge.

One of the most popular Korean rice cake dishes is called “tteokbokki (떡볶이)”. It’s made with rice cake sticks simmered in a spicy Korean chili paste sauce with anchovy stock and is a common and old-style dish in Korea.

We also have a spin-off version of pan fried rice cake recipe that has different flavor profile. If you enjoy snacking on Korean recipes,, we highly recommend giving it a try.

Why This Recipe Stands Out

This recipe features thin rice cake rounds instead of thick sticks, allowing them to cook faster and making it direct to stir-fry the rice cakes for a short, satisfying dish.
You can use any stir-fry-friendly vegetables you have on hand, making it a great way to use up leftovers or everyday produce. We use cabbage, onion, and Asian chives, but carrots, zucchini, or peppers work just as well.
Steady for sharing, this recipe is direct to customize. Make a small batch for yourself or double it to serve a crowd—it’s versatile and savory!

How the dish comes together

Prepare the rice cakes

Bring the water to a boil, add the rice cake rounds and cook until they float to the top.

Drain the rice cakes and coat them with oils. We used a mixture of wild sesame oil and grapeseed oil. You can use any cooking oils of your choice. If you don’t like the fragrance of sesame oil, you can omit it.

The reason you will want to coat the rice cake rounds with oil is so that they don’t stick to each other. These rounds are sticky, they tend to stick to the pan when you stir-fry. By coating them with oil, you can prevent that.

Make soy chili sauce

The entire dish is flavored with this soy chili sauce.

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Stir-fry all together

Heat a little bit of oil in a skillet, add the vegetables and stir-fry until crisp tender. Add the rice cakes and stir-fry them again for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the sauce, chives and mix well. You can omit the chives if you don’t have them.

Continue to stir-fry until everything is incorporated, about 2 minutes. We like to add fresh chili to give more spicy kick. It is a personal preference.

Sprinkle lots of toasted sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil.

We like the simplicity of this rice cake stir-fry. The chewy yet soft texture is something that we often crave for. And the spicy level in this recipe is steady for us.

If you want the less or more spicy, you can always adjust the amount of chili flakes according to you taste. We also love the crunchiness that cabbage adds. Hope you can give it a try.

Yield: 4 people
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb rice cake rounds
1 tbsp wild sesame oil, or sesame oil
2 tbsp cooking oil, divided
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/4 green cabbage, thinly sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sliced Asian chives, optional
1 fresh chili, sliced (optional)
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp corn syrup
1 tbsp sugar
1-2 tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
1 tbsp sweet rice wine (mirim)
dashes black pepper
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Method

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the rice cakes and boil until the they float to the top, about 2-3 minutes. Drain the rice cake and put them in mixing bowl. Add the wild sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil; toss them well.
In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, corn syrup, sugar chili flakes, rice wine, and pepper. Set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, cabbage, and garlic; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice cakes and continue to stir-fry for another 1 minute.
Add the soy sauce mixture, chives, and chili (if using)to the skillet and toss well; continue to stir-fry for another minute or until everything is well incorporated. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve immediately.