This easy Tomato Rice Cake Soup is not a traditional soup, but it is full of flavor, requires only a few ingredients, and comes together in less than 20 minutes! The umami flavors from the tomatoes and nutritional yeast, plus the chewy rice cakes, will make you want to go back for seconds!
Rice Cake Puns & Shapes
Almost everything the Chinese do has a symbolic meaning behind it, and play on words is often used. Chinese love symbols and puns, and rice cakes are no different.
In Mandarin Chinese, rice cakes are known as Nián Gāo (年糕), where Nián means year and Gāo means cake. Nián can be phonetically swapped with the word sticky (Nián, 黏), meaning the family sticks together and becomes closer. Similarly, Gāo can also be phonetically swapped with the word for tall or high (Gāo, 高), meaning longevity or leveling up.
Different shapes of rice cakes are even thought to symbolize good fortune. Slices as money coins (oval shape of the rice cakes) and sticks as gold or silver bars (cylindrical rice cakes). That is why rice cakes are usually eaten at the beginning of the lunar new year, in hopes of a new beginning and a prosperous year.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Tomatoes: Any type of tomato will do!
- Nutritional Yeast: It gives the soup another layer of umami flavor, a nice golden color, plus a vitamin B12 boost!
- Rice Cakes: You will find them in the frozen aisle of Korean grocery stores or Asian supermarkets, and they come in slices or sticks. Trader Joe's carries frozen sliced rice cakes, which are what I am using in this recipe.
- Cooking Oil: I like to use avocado oil for its high smoke point, but you can use any other neutral-tasting cooking oil you prefer.
- Salt and Sugar
- Water (Not Pictured)
How To Make This Recipe: A Visual Guide
Here is a quick visual recipe run-down! The full instructions with ingredients are in the recipe card below.
Step 1: In a soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat, add tomatoes, and saute them until they are soft, juicy, and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
Step 2: Add nutritional yeast and lower the heat to medium-low to avoid burning.
Step 3: Sauté tomatoes and nutritional yeast for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Step 4: Add water, turn the heat back up to medium-high, and wait for the water to boil.
Step 5: When the water boils, add rice cakes, and cook until they are soft, about 2-3 minutes.
Step 6: Add salt and sugar, and mix well. Then, it is ready to be served with chopped green onions!
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- There is no need to thaw the frozen rice cakes in advance. Just make sure to periodically check the texture of the rice cakes when the soup is cooking! Cooked rice cakes should be chewy all the way through and not al dente at all.
Storage & Reheating
- Storage: The rice cakes will start to soften quickly, so the soup is best finished within 2-3 days of making.
- Reheating: Reheating in the microwave is the fastest and easiest way! Just about 1-2 minutes per serving works great.
Additions & Substitutions
- Water: You can use vegetable broth instead.
- Vegetables: You can add more vegetables, like napa cabbage, to make this soup even heartier!
Easy Tomato Rice Cake Soup
Ingredients
Fresh and/or Frozen Items
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 8 oz rice cakes
- green onions for garnish
Pantry Items
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
Special Seasonings
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Others
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- Chop 2 medium tomatoes into small bite-sized chunks; keep the seeds and pulp .
- In a soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat.
- Add tomatoes, toss frequently, and saute until soft, juicy, and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, turn the heat to medium-low to avoid burning, and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add 3 cups water, turn the heat back up to medium-high, and wait for the water to boil.
- When the water boils, add 8 oz rice cakes and wait for the water to boil again. Periodically check whether the rice cakes are cooked; cooked rice cakes should be chewy all the way through and not al dente at all.
- After the soup boils again and when the rice cakes are thoroughly cooked, add 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon sugar.
- Serve with chopped green onions as garnish!
Nutrition
Nutrition is hand-calculated using Cronometer, and should be treated as an estimate only. Values can vary based on the ingredients, brands, and quantities you use. For the most accurate results, please calculate the nutrition using the exact ingredients you use, or consult a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian.
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