Cooking: Easy Baked Guoba

A while back we had way too much rice at home, and stir-frying it over and over got old, so I decided to try something new.

I figured, with all that rice lying around, why not make guoba?

So I got to it.

There are generally two ways to turn rice into guoba. One is deep-frying: press the rice into patties, drop them in hot oil, and the result comes out pretty close to the guoba you get in “guoba with squid.” But deep-frying is obviously a hassle and needs a big vat of oil.

So I went with the other lazy method.

Prep:

• Some cooked rice
• Cooking oil
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Chili oil (optional)
• Cornstarch
• Electric panini press

Steps:

Add cornstarch to the cooked rice and start stirring. This step is to make the baked guoba a bit crispier. Then add cooking oil, salt, black pepper, and chili oil—anyone who doesn’t like spicy can pour in a whole bottle of chili oil.

Once it’s mixed evenly, plug in the panini press and spread the mixed rice evenly inside. Close the lid and start heating both sides.

Usually it takes about 20 minutes. I recommend opening the lid at 20 minutes to check and try flipping. Don’t keep opening it before 20 minutes, since that messes with the heating. One way to judge: see whether the press is constantly giving off steam. If steam and the smell of rice keep coming out, it’s not ready to open. Once there’s no more steam or smoke, it’s about done.

Result:

When it’s done, take it out and break it apart yourself. Taste-wise I’d say it’s decent—fragrant to eat, and also a lot of work (tiring on the jaw).

Considering how simple it is—literally just stir everything together, spread it in the pan, and wait 20 minutes—this quick guoba is worth recommending.