Salt-and-Pepper Pork With Crispy Rice Cakes

bon appétit dinner asian korean pork turkey chicken green onion/scallion soy sauce ginger peanut free tree nut free

Andy Baraghani

4 Servings

Source

Ingredients

8 oz. Korean rice cakes

2 Tbsp. (or more) vegetable oil

8 oz. ground pork, turkey, or chicken

1 (2") piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Method

Place rice cakes in a medium bowl and pour in cold water to cover. Let soak 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, and pat dry.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add pork and cook, undisturbed, until browned underneath, about 2 minutes. Break up with a wooden spoon or a spatula and continue to cook, stirring and breaking into large pieces, until browned all over but still pink in places, about 2 minutes more. Add rice cakes, ginger, garlic, and half of scallions; season with salt and plenty of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is cooked through and rice cakes are browned in spots, about 4 minutes. If pan looks a bit dry at any point, pour in a little more oil. Remove pan from heat; add butter, soy sauce, and sesame oil and toss to coat.

Transfer pork mixture to a platter and top with remaining scallions.