Chinese Turnip Cake

Traditionally, my grandmother made Chinese turnip cake (loh bak goh) every Chinese new year. Hers was always the best, far better than ones I've been served at dim sum. When I asked my mum what her secret was, she said "lard." Right then.

I made this last year, but mistakenly added dark soy amongst a variety of mishaps. It still tasted good but had a brown tinge to it. I made sure to read recipes closely and to take my time over it. It turned out perfectly; well flavoured, a good consistency and the proper colour. It's not as good as my grandmother's, but I'm not entirely surprised at that. Fried up in a little oil and served with chilli oil to dip into it, it made a brilliant brunch and will feed me for days.


Chinese Turnip Cake (Loh Bak Goh)

1 mooli / daikon / Chinese turnip, around 700gr in size
3 Chinese sausages (lap cheung)
4 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
4 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 50ml hot water
1 tbsp dried shrimp, also in 50ml hot water
2 spring onions
50gr lard (optional)
280gr rice flour (not glutinous)
40gr potato starch or tapoica starch
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
300ml stock or water

Grate the radish, reserving the water chop the mushrooms and shrimp. Slice the sausage and simmer in a little water for a few minutes. Chop the garlic and shallots finely. In a bowl, mix together the flour, starch, sesame oil, white pepper and stock / water until it's a smooth consistency. In a wok, add the lard (you can use oil if you prefer) and when it's hot add the shallots and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant and then add the mushrooms, shrimp and sausage.

Add the turnip and stir fry for a few minutes, and then add the reserved water from soaking the shrimp and mushrooms. Simmer for a few minutes until the turnip is cooked and then add the flour mixture and the spring onions, chopped Stir in the salt and the soy sauce. Take off the heat and mix together carefully - it should thicken up with the residual heat. Pour into a greased tin and smooth the top. Steam for an hour - if you don't have a big enough steamer like me, put the tin in a baking tray of boiling water, cover with foil and put it in a 150 degree preheated oven for an hour.

When cooked, leave it to cool in the tin. To serve, slice and fry in some hot oil until crispy on both sides. Serve with some chilli oil.

Happy year of the Tiger (my year!) to you all - kung hei fat choi!