Stir Fried Sticky Rice Cake Sticks

I frequent K Oriental, an Asian market in West Little Rock, often on the weekends to see what fresh ingredients they've had brought in from Dallas.  So over the past weekend, I saw that they had these long rice stick packages near the front register. 

Also at the front register was an electric skillet with these rice cakes simmering in a very Korean looking reddish sauce.  They're prepared in smaller portioned sizes, and you can fix yourself a little container with as much as you'd like to take home.  As I waited in line with my herbs and Sasha's marble drink, I occasionally touched the package.  It was soft and warm.  I knew they had these in the refigerator and freezer section, and when I touched those packages, they were cold and hard.  These seemed a little harder to resist.  So I took some home.

I Googled "rice sticks" and "rice cakes" and "Korean rice cakes" to read as many recipes as possible.  I tasted one on its own.  Sticky and plain, but fun to chew.  Sasha enjoyed eating them plain with a little side of tamari.  I decided that a quick stir fry with some shrimp would be a great way to enjoy these.

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz.) package of fresh rice cake sticks
• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 cup of chicken broth or stock
• 1/4 cup of hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 dash of sesame oil
• 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• Optional garnish:  chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, and crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the rice cake sticks into smaller sections, about 6 per stick.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat until hot, about 5 minutes.
3. Cook the white and green onions until soft, about 3 minutes. 
4. Make the sauce:  combine broth, hoisin, ginger, cornstarch, sesame oil, and tamari.  Mix well.
5. Add the rice cake sticks to the pan.  Add the sauce.  Stir to coat the rice sticks.  They will be less sticky when coated with the sauce.
6. Add the shrimp, then continue to cook over medium high heat while stirring constantly.  When the shrimp is orange, and the sauce has thickened, remove from heat.
7. Garnish with chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, and crushed red pepper if you'd like.