rice cake review

Hi there! I am proud to present to you, Rice Cake Review – a blog about rice cakes! (I’ll use RCR for short.)

Say what?! What’s so special about rice cakes, you may ask?

EVERYTHING.

Like so many cultures around the world, rice has always been an integral part of my life. I grew up eating, breathing, and celebrating rice. Rice is essential to my being.

There’s a long tradition of rice aficionados in my family. Before emigrating to the United States, my mom and my grandmother worked in rice paddies, cultivating and harvesting their own rice. She knows what hard work that was and never let my family nor I waste any rice. She would yell and hiss at me if I dared to leave even a single grain of rice sticking to the side of a bowl. She still does! And because of her extensive knowledge, my mom still grades the quality of the bags of rice we purchase, although if you ask me, it’s all the same once cooked. =] It’s the staple of a meal – I wouldn’t feel completely satiated without it. I even remember old times when my mom would use hot steaming rice wrapped in a towel to ease the itching of a bad rash or chickenpox! The omnipresence of rice in my life has left me with a genuine love for it and I couldn’t possibly imagine life without it.

I love rice cakes in particular. Yes, rice cakes. What isn’t there to love? I LOVE the chewy textures. I love the colors and the shapes they come in. I love the creativity involved in the preparation of rice cakes. I love that they’re wholesome treats, made with natural ingredients. It’s a weird love affair, but I’m not ashamed to admit it.

I also need to clarify that this blog is NOT dedicated to the “rice cake” crackers that you see in American stores. You know — the flat, hard, puffed kind that you eat when you’re on a diet. The rice cakes that I have an infinite amount of love for are the Asian varieties that are usually made of glutinous rice flour and is then baked, fried, pounded or steamed to an ooey gooey perfection.

I will be seeking out different rice cakes from all over the San Francisco Bay Area (where I reside) and beyond to taste and write about, including all, but not limited to — tteok from Korea, puto from the Philippines (shutchomouth! In Filipino, not Spanish!), the popular mochi from Japan, different kinds of gao from China, different kinds of bánh from Vietnam, and any other variety I can get my grubby little hands on!

It won’t just be limited to rice cakes, no sir. I love all things rice! Rice pudding is making a big comeback among foodies, and I can’t wait to try some. Sticky rice is a delicious dessert that I have been wanting to try too. I might even look for the best places to get fresh horchata! I will avoid savory foods made of rice, like sushi or rice porridge, just so that things wouldn’t get too complicated.

I’m so excited about this blog! And I’m so happy to have found a niche among all the great blogs out there. Aside from my own personal blog, I have always wanted to create a blog dedicated to something whimsical, and something that I would be passionate about writing too. Over the years, several ideas ran through my head. Some of which included:

• Men’s fashion? I love fashion, but the idea just seemed too difficult. I’m more of an admirer, not a stylist.
• Being green? Overrated and overdone. Doesn’t mean I won’t stop though. =]
• Cheap eats? Too unhealthy! And too little money!

But then it just came to me while I was laying in bed one night. The moment was magical. “A blog about… rice cakes!” PERFECT.

I also came up with my very own rating system for my rice cake reviews. So let me introduce to you…

The Puteokchi Scale! (PTC for short)

Pu–Teok–Chi — combining the Filipino puto, the Korean tteok, and the Japanese mochi to create the super omega rice cake rating system!

I will rate rice cakes on a scale of 1 to 5 puteokchis. Because I love rice cakes so much, even the worse of the worse, you’ll rarely see a 1.

Look forward to my very first review soon. It’s going to be a special one! And I welcome any comments or suggestions on rice cakes – good places to get some in the Bay Area, recipes, likes or dislikes, etc.

I ♥ rice cakes!

mochi!