Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese dim sum and breakfast food classics with a shot at pretty much the very first thing that I look for on the dim sum carts any chance I get, which is the Chinese steamed and fried turnip cake, or “luo bai gao.” For those unfamiliar, a Chinese turnip cake as you might have guessed, prominently features a shredded and steamed Chinese turnip that has been mixed with an assortment of meats and veggies, then steamed into a solid form, and finally sliced and pan fried for a crispy exterior texture. 

Those following along with this series may know that the luo bai gao has many different popular variations on the same theme, most of which make use of different forms starchy root veggies. Some time ago we did a purple tinged version using taro root, and in fact for today’s version in lieu of turnips, we’re going to make use of these gorgeous daikon radishes that I found at the farmer’s market, which are also a very common substitution. Most iconically though, the luo bai gao must include two ingredients, the first being these dried Chinese lap cheong sausages, and the second being rice flour. This would be the same stuff used to make things like mochi, which of course means that it will also give our turnip cakes a similarly wonderful chewy, sticky, and bouncy texture. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger

  • 3 green onions

  • 4 shiitake mushrooms

  • 4 lap cheong sausages

  • 1 medium Chinese turnip (or daikon, or taro root)

  • 1 cup glutinous rice flour

  • 1/4 cup corn starch

  • peanut oil

  • chili oil (optional)

  • soy sauce (optional)

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside

  • FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside

  • SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice thinly, set aside

  • REHYRDATE the shiitake mushrooms in boiling water for 15 minutes, then dice and set aside

  • DICE the lap cheong, set aside

  • REMOVE the root and tip ends of the daikon, then grate and set aside

ON THE STOVE

  • BOIL 1 cup of water over medium heat, then add the shredded daikon and simmer for 5 minutes until tender and remove

  • REHEAT the wok, add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the garlic, ginger, and whites of green onions and saute until fragrant for about 15 minutes

  • ADD the lap cheong and toss for 2-3 minutes

  • ADD the shiitake and toss to combine, then remove

  • COMBINE the cooked daikon, filling, and greens of green onions with 1 cup glutinous rice flour and 1/4 cup corn starch

  • ADD the batter to an oiled loaf pan, then tap on the counter to dislodge any air pockets

  • ADD the loaf pan to a steam basket in a tall stock pot with boiling water, then cover and steam over medium low heat for 60 minutes

  • REMOVE and cool in the refrigerator overnight

  • REMOVE the cake from the loaf pan, then slice with a wet serrated knife

  • HEAT a wok over medium low heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • FRY the cakes for 2 minutes per side until golden brown

  • SERVE with chili oil and soy sauce

 

tagged with luo bai gao, turnip cake, chinese turnip cake, daikon, radish cake, dim sum, dim sum recipe, chinese recipe, chinese food, woo can cook