Training & Nutrition - Allen Lim's Rice Cakes

Has anyone tried Allen Lim's rice cake recipe?

It's amazing...I have my own version of it...http://ridefood.blogspot.com/2011/04/sushi-rice-bars.html

I think Lim is from the San Francisco area, at least that's where he was brought up and raised with Chinese food influence. I think he simplified something that is traditional Chinese food. If you go to a Dim Sum restaurant, a good one with a lot of variety, they will have this sticky rice wrapped in leaves. Most Dim Sum restaurants will not make it like home cooking. They lack a lot of ingredients.

Instead of scrambled eggs, its hard boiled duck eggs. Instead of bacon, its Chinese sausage. If you go to one of those Vietnamese/Chinese buffet fast food places, they just might have this sticky rice wrapped in leaves. Lim adds cheese but with the Chinese sticky rice, there's no cheese. I think the cheese is mostly for the non Asian palate plus some nutritional value, of course.

If you're too tight for time, and simply don't want to make the rice cakes, try the Chinese sticky rice wrapped in leaves. It doesn't even have to be warmed up.

This sounds great. One of my favorite pre-ride eats is home made "trailer park" sushi. I use fish sticks for filler. It sits well on my stomach and gives me lots of energy. I will definitely try this recipe. Thanks

Here is a link to the Chinese version of Allen Lim's rice cakes. This is the authentic version. The similar version is found in Dim Sum restaurants and some Chinese/Vietnamese grocery stores.

http://www.toisanpride.com/2011/03/few-of-my-favorite-things-gai-lan-and.html

relevant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UiuqIWGe_s

I have my own recipe which is more sushi like than Lims or the ones listed here, because it's got some sugar and rice wine vinegar just like you'd do with real sushi rice.

I've made the brown rice muffins from Lim's book and they are very good.

I actually made Lim's receipe, however I did omit the Amino stuff to reduce the sodium. Easy to make, seems like i cup dry sushi rice, 4 strips bacon, 2 scrambled eggs, and brown sugar. I was never able to find the foil paper to wrap them in. They tasted good, but they should be eaten within a few days

foil paper? It just foil wrap. You can get it a huge roll of it at costco :)

I didn't find them to be sticky enough to be super practical. I used the stickiest sushi rice I could find but there was no way to eat them on the bike without pulling over. Tasted great and the salt+sweet hits the spot on long rides.

I didn't find them to be sticky enough to be super practical. I used the stickiest sushi rice I could find but there was no way to eat them on the bike without pulling over. Tasted great and the salt+sweet hits the spot on long rides.To get them sticky I think you need to add sugar and rice wine vinegar. It's not mentioned in Lim's recipe but is commonly used when making sushi.

Yes, and that combination of vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt can be found already mixed in the Asian section of some supermarkets. It will be with the rice vinegar and listed as "seasoned". But some Japanese like to add a little more sugar to that premixed product. The tricky part to making the Lim rice cakes is that once the rice is cooked, you let it cool off a bit and dump the rice into another container like a salad bowl and begin pouring the rice vinegar onto the rice at the same time you stir the rice to get an even distribution of the liquid. If you don't do that, then you won't get a nice consistency of the stickiness.

There is another facet to Allen Lim's rice cake thing. Instead of that kind of rice, I would go back to the more original source where Lim might have gotten this idea and that's the Chinese sticky rice. That variety is called "sweet rice". The Japanese would know it as the type of rice used for "Mochi". The Chinese use it for sticky rice, and the stuff wrapped in leaves that you find at the Dim Sum restaurants.

To me, sweet rice would be better than sushi rice. There is no need for the seasoned vinegar. And the sweet rice is naturally sticky. Another thing is this thing "mochi". Those of you who know what this is, will figure out that its also a good thing to eat during a long ride.

My take is that "Mochi" can be made to include the similar things the Lim rice cakes provide for nutrition. But it can be done in a commercially available way.

Those of you who have been to Japan or Taiwan will know that Mochi is a popular snack or bakery type food. At Trader Joe's there's even mochi ice cream. It would seem to me that this Mochi can be made with a center filling filled with nutritional stuff.

I call them breakfast on the go/bike, because thats what they are really! breakfast anytime.

I actually made Lim's receipe, however I did omit the Amino stuff to reduce the sodium. Easy to make, seems like i cup dry sushi rice, 4 strips bacon, 2 scrambled eggs, and brown sugar. I was never able to find the foil paper to wrap them in. They tasted good, but they should be eaten within a few days


why would you even reduce the sodium? you are aware what it's there for, right?

Being a whole food fan I’m glad Lim’s ideas on how to fuel and recover are getting to a larger audience. I’ve altered his rice cakes with tofu instead of eggs, tempeh slices with apple cider vinegar, cumin, turmeric and soy sauce instead of bacon and organic honey instead of brown sugar.

And beet juice ftw.

Being a whole food fan I’m glad Lim’s ideas on how to fuel and recover are getting to a larger audience. I’ve altered his rice cakes with tofu instead of eggs, tempeh slices with apple cider vinegar, cumin, turmeric and soy sauce instead of bacon and organic honey instead of brown sugar.

And beet juice ftw.

Put all that in a mochi wrapping and you have a commercialized product.

Being a whole food fan I’m glad Lim’s ideas on how to fuel and recover are getting to a larger audience. I’ve altered his rice cakes with tofu instead of eggs, tempeh slices with apple cider vinegar, cumin, turmeric and soy sauce instead of bacon and organic honey instead of brown sugar.

And beet juice ftw.

What are the rough proportions for the apple cider vinegar, cumin, tumeric and soy sauce with the tempeh slices - I guess you would just fry these together with the ingredients, like the bacon in the other recipe?

What are the rough proportions for the apple cider vinegar, cumin, tumeric and soy sauce with the tempeh slices - I guess you would just fry these together with the ingredients, like the bacon in the other recipe?

fry?? there is no frying in this recipe, minus the bacon.

fry?? there is no frying in this recipe, minus the bacon.

Yes, the tempeh slices (plus vinegar + soy sauce + spices) are a substitute for the bacon.