Turnip cake (蘿蔔糕/萝卜糕, lo bak go in Cantonese) is a dish that you simply usually discover at dim sum. There are lots of regional variations of turnip cake. The one which’s hottest in dim sum eating places is lo bak go, which is southern Chinese language-style turnip cake. My mother’s recipe is that this southern Chinese language-style turnip cake. There’s additionally Taiwanese-style turnip cake, tsai tao kui (菜頭粿). You can check out my friend Irvin Lin’s recipe for tsai tao kui here.
Pan frying the turnip cake provides it a crispy exterior, whereas the within stays delicate. Once you chunk into a chunk, you’ll style umami flavors from substances like dried scallops, dried shrimp, Chinese language sausage or Chinese language cured pork. Mama Lin has made lo bak go for years, and I’m glad I could make it myself now. I could also be biased, however I believe Mama Lin’s turnip cake is the most effective!
WHY IS LO BAK GO CALLED “TURNIP CAKE” IN ENGLISH?
The rationale why lo bak go changed into “turnip cake” in English is convoluted and complicated.
Turnip cake is product of daikon (lo bak in Cantonese), a protracted white radish that’s generally utilized in Asian cooking. Technically, this dish should be “radish cake.” Nevertheless, lo bak go was translated as “turnip cake” by Chinese language eating places years in the past, and that’s the identify that has caught. We should roll with it.
One other difficulty is how “糕” (go) is translated into English as “cake.” In Chinese language, the phrase 糕 can consult with many alternative meals: candy or savory batter that’s steamed right into a strong cake, like lo bak go; candy batter that’s steamed into moist and ethereal desserts; or candy batter that’s baked into Western-style desserts. I’ve all the time discovered “cake” to be an imprecise translation, however that’s the phrase you generally see these days.
A NOTE ABOUT DAIKON
White radishes, like those you see above, are generally utilized in Asian delicacies. This radish is available in many types. I generally see them labeled as daikon in grocery shops and farmers markets. Daikon (大根) is the Japanese identify for this radish and means “huge root.”
Mama Lin prefers to prepare dinner with the radish on the left, which is thicker and extra rounded. My mother calls it “Chinese language radish.” In keeping with my mom, the one on the correct, which she calls “Japanese radish,” is extra bitter. I can’t say that I discover that huge of a distinction between the 2. Any daikon ought to work for this recipe.
HOW TO MAKE TURNIP CAKE/LO BAK GO
PREPARE FLAVORING BITS
Mama Lin likes utilizing dried shrimp and dried scallops for her lo bak go. Soak them in a single day to rehydrate. The scallops specifically want just a few hours of soaking earlier than they’re delicate sufficient to be shredded. Mama Lin usually provides Chinese language sausage (臘腸) and her home made Chinese language cured pork (臘肉) to taste the lo bak go as effectively.
To convey out the flavour of those substances, my mother sautés them together with some shallots for a couple of minutes. She then seasons the flavoring bits with a little bit of salt and oyster sauce.
PREPARE THE DAIKON
The very first thing you wish to do with the daikon is to trim the tops and peel the outer pores and skin. As you peel the daikon, use a peeler or knife to strip away any dry and fibrous layers. That is notably a problem if the daikon you bought will not be contemporary.
Then, grate the daikon. In case you are utilizing a field grater, use the most important grate. Remember to grate the daikon over a big bowl or a 9×13 pan, as you wish to protect all of the daikon juices that run out. If you wish to save time with meals prep, you may grate the daikon utilizing a meals processor.
BOIL THE GRATED DAIKON
Earlier than mixing the daikon into the batter, Mama Lin often boils the daikon. She’ll fireplace up the wok and sauté just a few smashed cloves of garlic to get the flavors going. Then, she combines the daikon, with 1 1/2 cups of water and prepare dinner the radish for five to 7 minutes.
Daikon is barely bitter, so she provides just a few small items of yellow rock sugar to steadiness the flavors. (I additionally use rock sugar to neutralize the bitter taste of the daikon in my vegan savory tang yuan recipe. You’ll find yellow rock sugar in Asian supermarkets or on Amazon. She prefers utilizing rock sugar as a result of she claims the sweetness is extra pristine (清甜). You possibly can substitute rock sugar with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
MAKE THE BATTER
For the batter, Mama Lin makes use of a combination of equal elements rice flour and cornstarch. The rice flour provides the cake construction whereas the cornstarch makes the cake softer. For those who don’t have cornstarch, you may substitute it with one other starch, corresponding to potato starch or tapioca starch.
MIX DAIKON, FLAVORING BITS & BATTER
After you prepare dinner the daikon for a couple of minutes, combine within the flavoring bits. Ensure you scale back the warmth to low. Then, fastidiously pour the batter into the wok. Stir the whole lot collectively till the batter is now not runny (see picture above). This shouldn’t take greater than 1 or 2 minutes. If the batter remains to be very runny at this stage, the turnip cake gained’t prepare dinner correctly.
Pour all of the contents of the turnip cake right into a greased pan. Though I take advantage of a 9×2” circular cake pan, you should utilize any pan, like an 8×8 sq. pan. Whichever pan you utilize, you wish to make certain it will probably match right into a wok or steamer.
STEAMING THE CAKE
To arrange the wok for steaming, place a steaming rack simply over 2 inches excessive within the heart of the wok. Fill the wok with sufficient water to succeed in just under the highest of the steaming rack. Carry the water to boil.
Rigorously place the turnip cake above the rack. Cowl and steam the cake for about 40 minutes.
I want utilizing a big wok, like this 14-inch stainless steel one, for steaming.
SERVING THE TURNIP CAKE
You wish to let the cake cool fully earlier than serving. Mama Lin likes consuming the cake at room temperature as a result of she likes the delicate texture of the cake. I want it pan fried. Normally, I chill the turnip cake within the fridge in a single day. That manner, the cake turns into stiffer, which makes it simpler for slicing and pan frying.
Turnip cake is great with chili oil crisp, corresponding to Lao Gan Ma or Fly By Jing, or XO sauce.
LOOKING FOR MORE DIM SUM?
Servings: 8
Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go, 萝卜糕, 蘿蔔糕)
Components
Flavoring Bits
- 5 to six (15g) dried scallops, (see notice 1)
- 1/4 cup (20g) dried shrimp
- 3 tablespoons (30g) chopped shallots
- 1/2 cup (65g) chopped Chinese language sausage
- 1/4 cup (40g) chopped Chinese language cured pork
- 1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil (any impartial oil works)
- 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon (1g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use 1/8 teaspoon if utilizing desk salt
Daikon
- 2 1/2 kilos daikon (lo bak)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 4 to five cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 1/2 cups (355ml) water
- 2 small items (15g) rock sugar, can sub with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use 1/2 teaspoon if utilizing desk salt
- 1/2 teaspoon floor white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon hen bouillon powder, (elective, see notice 2)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Batter
- 1 cup (115g) rice flour, measured with spoon-and-sweep methodology (see notice 3)
- 1 scant cup (115g) cornstarch, measured with spoon-and-sweep methodology
- 1 cup (255ml) water
Directions
Put together Flavoring Bits
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Soak the dried scallops and dried shrimp in water in a single day. Drain the water. Shred the scallops together with your arms. Roughly chop the dried shrimp.
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Warmth 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet (or sauté pan) over medium-high warmth. Add the shallots and prepare dinner for about 2 minutes, stirring steadily. Subsequent, add the dried shrimp, sausage, and cured pork and prepare dinner for a minute. Then, add the dried scallops and prepare dinner a minute extra. Combine in 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and oyster sauce. Flip off the warmth and switch the whole lot to a bowl.
Put together Daikon
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Peel the daikon and slice off the highest. Grate the daikon right into a 9×13 pan or a bowl. You might be doing this to make sure that you save all of the daikon juices that launch as you might be grating the turnips. Alternatively, grate the daikon utilizing a meals processor.
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Warmth 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a big wok (or deep sauté pan) over medium-high warmth. Add the garlic to the wok and sauté for a couple of minute, till aromatic. Switch the grated daikon (and any daikon juices) into the wok. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, the rock sugar, salt, white pepper, hen powder, and garlic powder to the wok. Be certain to position the rock sugar into the water to make sure that it dissolves correctly. Cowl the wok with a lid and prepare dinner the daikon on excessive warmth for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Make Batter
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Whereas the daikon is cooking, make the batter. Whisk the rice flour and cornstarch in a mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of water and stir. The batter could be stiff in the beginning, however preserve stirring till the batter is clean.
Combine Daikon, Flavoring Bits & Batter
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Uncover the wok and scale back the warmth to low. Dig out the items of garlic from the daikon. You don’t need massive chunks of garlic contained in the cake. Add the flavoring bits and stir to mix. Then, add the batter to the daikon and stir till batter is now not runny. The batter ought to thicken in a minute or two. Flip off the warmth.
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Flippantly grease the cake pan with oil. Switch all of the substances from the wok to the cake pan. Use a versatile spatula to clean out the highest of the turnip cake.
Steam Cake
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Wash the wok. Place a steaming rack within the heart of the wok and fill it with sufficient water in order that the water degree is just under the highest of the steaming rack. Carry the water to boil.
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Rigorously place the turnip cake on prime of the steaming rack. Cowl the wok and prepare dinner on medium-high for 40 minutes. Be certain to replenish the water after 25 minutes as a result of it’s going to evaporate.
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Flip off the warmth and uncover the wok. Utilizing oven mitts, switch the cake to a cooling rack. Chances are you’ll discover some water on prime of the steamed cake due to condensation that builds up underneath the wok lid. That’s okay. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. If there’s nonetheless a skinny layer of water on prime, fastidiously tip the cake pan to empty the water.
Serving Turnip Cake/Lo Bak Go
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Let the cake cool for half-hour to 1 hour earlier than slicing and serving. If you wish to pan fry the cake, let it cool fully, ideally in a single day. The cake must set earlier than pan frying. In any other case, the cake can be delicate and mushy.
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To pan fry, slice the cake into small squares or rectangles. Warmth 2 tablespoons of oil in a big skillet over medium-high warmth. Add the turnip cake items and pan fry either side for about 3 to 4 minutes, till golden brown. Serve the turnip cake with Lao Gan Ma chili crisp or soy sauce.
Video
Notes
- These scallops are about 1/2 to three/4 inch in diameter (dried).
- My mother makes use of hen powder usually to reinforce the umami taste of her dishes. Be at liberty to go away it out. You possibly can substitute the hen powder with onion powder to provide the dish extra taste.
- I often use Thai rice flour that comes within the bag with the pink label. That is NOT glutinous rice flour or mochiko. Candy rice or glutinous rice flours gained’t work with this recipe as a result of they may make the cake chewy. I usually weigh my flours. See right here for more information in regards to the spoon-and-sweep method of measuring flour.
- You should use an 8×8-inch sq. pan or any pan that matches inside a wok. For those who use a loaf pan, you’ll seemingly want so as to add one other 5 to 10 minutes to the cooking time due to the depth of the pan.
Vitamin
Serving: 1serving | Energy: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 8.1g | Fats: 8.9g | Saturated Fats: 3.1g | Ldl cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 653mg | Fiber: 2.8g | Sugar: 5g
