Rice Cakes with Mixed Vegetables 

This stir-fry of Chinese rice cakes with mixed vegetables is colorful, satisfying, and happens to be vegan and vegetarian. 

Rice cakes are called niángāo in Mandarin (or neen goh in Cantonese), which is a homonym for Chinese words that mean “higher year.”

It symbolizes growth in the new year, which is why families enjoy niángāo in its many forms around the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.

A Vegan & Vegetarian Rice Cake Stir-fry

We’ve posted rice cake recipes in the past, including our Stir-fried Rice Cakes with Pork, Shanghai Stir-fried Rice Cakes with Shepherd’s Purse, our Spicy Rice Cakes, and our Steak & Scallion Rice Cakes. But we’ve never posted a version that was all veggie! 

To give the stir-fry a meaty flavor, we included oyster mushrooms. You can also substitute fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms. We also have lots of different textures coming from the napa cabbage, carrots, and bean sprouts.

As a longtime rice cake enthusiast, I was frankly surprised while developing this recipe that I really didn’t miss the meat here!

Layering Flavor with Spices & Aromatics 

In some ways, cooking vegan and vegetarian dishes requires more creativity than cooking with meat. If you add chicken, pork, or beef to a dish, you have built-in flavor. But without them, you have to reach for more creative ideas to build layers of flavor. 

In addition to the different vegetables I included in this recipe, you’ll find several aromatics and spices that add complexity. 

Of course, there’s ginger, scallion, and garlic, but we also include star anise—a fragrant spice you’ll often find in braised dishes and infused oils (like our chili oil).

We use it less frequently in stir-fries, but infusing the oil with ginger, scallion, and star anise for a minute or two can actually make a subtle, but significant difference to the final dish.

You can find star anise in Chinese markets, as well as an increasing number of supermarkets and specialty grocery stores. We used star anise pods that we received from Frontier Co-op, a member-owned producer of sustainably sourced spices, herbs and seasonings. They’re super fragrant and add a lot to this recipe! 

Recipe Instructions

To a wok over medium heat, add the oil, star anise, ginger slices, and white parts of the scallion.

Cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic, mushrooms, and carrot. Stir-fry for 1 minute. 

Increase the heat to high. Add the Shaoxing wine, followed by the napa cabbage.

Stir-fry until the cabbage just starts to wilt, about 30 seconds.

Then add the rice cakes and water. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. 

Uncover the wok, and stir. With the heat still at medium, add the vegetarian oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper. Give everything a stir again. 

Increase the heat to high, and finally, add the bean sprouts and the green parts of the scallions. 

Stir-fry everything together for 1 final minute, until the rice cakes are tender but still chewy, and the scallion greens are just wilted. Plate and serve!