Chili Mac Rice Cakes Recipe on Food52 (2024)

If you think elbow macaroni cooks fast, allow me to introduce you to rice cakes. They're known as tteok (dduk) in Korean, but you can find rice cakes across Asian cuisines. While most rice cakes are made from rice flour, you can also readily find those made with wheat flour. They are found at Korean or Asian markets on either the shelves or freezer section.

The rice cakes used in this spin on beefy mac are the cylinder-shaped white rice cakes called garaetteok, the type used in Korean tteokbokki recipes. More recently, spins on the traditional tteokbokki have taken off: carbonara tteokbokki and rosé tteokbokki among them. The rosé here refers to the pinky hue from the gochujang-milk/cream sauce. It's a delightfully modern take on a street food favorite.

In this recipe, I start with the Korean rice cakes, which then go on an American and Italian journey: American by way of nostalgic Hamburger Helper (specifically, the chili mac version), and Italian by cooking the rice cakes in more of a manner fit for pasta. The classic cheeseburger Hamburger Helper typified “American food” to me growing up (it was also one of the first meals I learned to make for myself as a teen). There is nothing more comforting than a creamy, cheesy, beefy pasta, with the true bonus being that it comes together in no time. I have taken these beloved elements and familiar flavors of tomato, garlic, and a touch of chili powder (no gochujang here, though it would be awesome!) and blanket chubby rice cakes—not elbow macaroni—with the meaty sauce in a similar, perhaps even less, amount of time. Important note: This recipe scales down well, and takes well to varying levels of spiciness.

If you are using rice cakes from frozen, allow them to thaw a bit in a bowl of cold water while you prep your ingredients (that's all the time they need). Separate them from one another, drain in a sieve, and proceed. If you purchased a room temperature bag of rice cakes, keep any remaining amount in the freezer and pull out a handful anytime you want to enjoy them in a tteokbokki or ramen, pan-fried, or in this very comforting version of beefy mac. —Hana Asbrink

Directions

1. If working with frozen rice cakes, place them in a medium bowl. Cover with cold water and thaw for about 10 minutes while proceeding with the recipe, then drain. If working with room temperature rice cakes, skip this step.
2. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, about 1 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper. Break up the meat and cook until the pink is gone, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, another few minutes.
3. Lower the heat to medium. Add the paprika, chili powder, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and combine with the meat and onion mixture. (Lower the heat a touch more if you see the tomato paste is sticking to the bottom of the skillet.) Add milk and 1 cup water and stir everything carefully, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the rice cakes to the skillet, breaking any stuck-together ones apart. They should be about halfway submerged; don't worry if they're not fully covered by the liquid. Turn the heat back up to medium-high, and cook until rice cakes are done but still chewy and al dente, about 4 to 5 minutes. If they were particularly hard or dry to begin with, it might take a few more minutes. (They will continue getting softer with residual heat, so err on cooking for a shorter time rather than longer.) Keep an eye on the skillet and reduce heat if sauce starts to bubble aggressively or splatter. Stir once in a while to prevent rice cakes from sticking to the pan.
5. Turn off the heat and add the grated cheese. Carefully stir until combined and all cheese is melted. The sauce will thicken further at this point. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding the last 1/2 teaspoon of salt, if needed.
6. Plate and garnish with scallions and extra freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy right away.

Recipe by: Hana Asbrink