Keto Korean Rice Cakes

Rice cakes, or tteok in Korean, were a staple in our kitchen growing up so I’m very excited to share this keto-friendly version with you.

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Some things to keep in mind: The chemistry of my keto rice cakes make it so it acts very differently than a traditional rice cake during cooking. You cannot simply replace a tteokppokki recipe with keto rice cakes and have the same effect. Traditional rice cakes are starchy and sticky and lends to the dish its thickening effect. Traditional rice cakes are also quite resilient and will stay together without too much care. Keto rice cakes are a bit more delicate. They are bouncy and chewy and quite neutral in taste just like the original version, so they accompany stronger flavors beautifully. If boiled too long, they become part of the sauce, so pan fry and add to any dish as the last step for best results.

Let’s get started by gathering all of the ingredients and tools. Fill the steamer with water and set to high heat on the stove. Be sure to have enough water to steam for about 50 minutes or remember to refill the steamer when water runs out to avoid scorching the pot.

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Prepare a heatproof vessel (ie. bowl, cake pan, pizza pan, etc.) that will fit in the steamer and will also allow room for the rice cake to rise by two times. Oil the inside of the vessel liberally. I also outlined and cut out a piece of parchment paper that will fit the bottom of the pan, but I haven’t found this step to be necessary.

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Use a food scale to be as accurate as possible. After every item placed on the scale (ie. bowl, strainer, almond flour), I hit zero to measure each new ingredient. Into the mixing bowl, sift all of the dry ingredients and whisk to evenly distribute.

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Place the mixing bowl on a towel so that the bowl doesn’t move around. Add the boiling water to the mixture as you whisk quickly and thoroughly!

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Turn the burner to medium heat. Put the mixture into the heatproof vessel, gently pat it down to get an even layer, and carefully place the rice cake into the steamer.

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Place a towel under the lid to catch any condensation from dripping onto the keto rice cakes.

Let it steam on medium heat for 50 minutes and then on high for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the steamed keto rice cake and place it into an oiled glass Pyrex 3-cup rectangular food storage container or any smaller vessel that will mold the rice cake to be about 3/4″ thick. Press into the mold and place in the freezer for about 1 hour.

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The rice cake should be hard enough to cut into pieces with ease. Traditional rice cakes are shaped in long cylinders that are cut to small log-shaped pieces or thin ovals on a bias, but I find the best, no-fuss way to do this is cut the rice cake into rectangular prisms. I cut mine in half the long way and cut smaller pieces

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Keep them in the refrigerator or freezer until you’re ready to use them! To enjoy, pan fry each side until you get golden brown color and add them at the end of any recipe.

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Use them in keto tteokppokki (spicy rice cakes), dip them in a mix of some Vitafiber & doenjang, wrap some dried seaweed around it, eat them with Korean BBQ and toast them in the shiny pork belly drippings. Mm. Add guilt-free, chewy goodness to every meal!

Have you already made my keto gochujang? If yes, then you’ll be ready to make my ketosis tteokppokki next week! Good luck and enjoy! – Jihae

PS. If you’d like to see the texture in action, you can check out my story highlights on my instagram @jihaesketokitchen under tteok.