Turnip Cake / Lo Bak Go / 萝卜糕 (Steamed or Pan Fried)
Chinese Turnip Cake or Lo Bak Go in Cantonese is a well-loved dim sum dish that is served steamed or pan fried. Either way, both are super delicious. While it can be laborious to make, it's really worth the effort as homemade turnip cake is loaded with lots of radish, lap cheong and all the yummy goodness.
Remove the skin of 2 Chinese sausages by using a knife and slice off the side, then peel off the skin.Then dice the sausages finely.
2 Chinese sausages
Soak 5 dried shiitake mushrooms for about 15 minutes or until softened.Drain off the water and squeeze dry the dried shrimps.Mince the dried shrimps finely. Note: Save the water to use later.
2 tbsp dried shrimps
Soak 5 dried shiitake mushrooms for about 30 minutes or until softened.Drain off the water and squeeze dry the mushrooms.Remove the stems of the mushrooms and mince coarsely.Note: Save the water to use later.
5 dried shiitake mushrooms
Combine the dried shrimps water and mushroom water. Sieve off the solid bits.
Peel and mince 5 shallots finely.Wash and slice the green part of 1 spring onion, to use as garnish.Wash and slice 1 red chilli, to use as garnish.
5 shallots, 1 spring onion, 1 red chilli
Chop off the head and tail of 700 g white radish. Peel the skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut the radish into thick pieces.Grate the radish using a food processor or manually with a hand grater.
700 g white radish
In a pot over medium heat, boil the grated radish in the shrimps and mushrooms water.Once boiled, reduce to simmer for about 5 minutes until the radish is wilted. Then turn off the heat.Drain off the radish liquid and squeeze the radish as dry as possible. Let the radish liquid cool down for later use.
Mix 160 g rice flour, 40 g corn starch, and 300ml of the turnip water (flour to liquid ratio is 2:3) until well incorporated with no signs of flour.
160 g rice flour, 40 g corn starch
In a wok or big pan over medium-low heat, warm 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil. Add the chopped Chinese sausage and fry until slightly crispy.Add chopped shallots, dried shrimps, and mushrooms, and saute until aromatic.. Add more vegetable oil if it's too dry.
Mix well until the turnip is coated with the seasonings evenly.Do a taste test and adjust the seasonings if needed.
Gradually add the flour mixture into the turnip mixture and mix well. Make sure there are no lumps. Then turn on low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture becomes thicker with no signs of liquid. Then turn off the heat.
Grease a cake tin or glass dish with some vegetable oil.Note: I used an 8-inch cake tin.
Pour in the turnip mixture and level the top with a spatula.
Boil water in a steamer pot.Once boiled, place the turnip cake tin into the steamer, covered with aluminium foil.Steam over medium-low heat for 40- 50 min. To test if the turnip cake is ready, test with a stick inserted into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean without wet batter, it’s done.Remove from steamer.
Let it cool completely inside the container.Once cooled, run a spatula around the sides of the cake tin. place a plate over the cake tin. Flip the cake tin with the plate upside down. The radish cake should unmould easily from the cake tin.
Garnish with spring onion, chilli, and 3-4 tbsp fried shallots.
1 red chilli, 1 spring onion, 3-4 tbsp fried shallots
Serve as is, with Chilli sauce or Sweet soy sauce. Best served on the same day.
Sweet soy sauce, Chilli sauce
For pan fried crispy turnip cake, cut the lo bak go into slices of about 1-inch thick. Warm some 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.Pan fry the turnip cake until both sides turn golden brown and crispy.
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Garnish the crispy turnip cake with spring onions.Serve with Chilli sauce or Sweet soy sauce. Best served on the same day.
Sweet soy sauce, Chilli sauce
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 130kcal
Keyword cantonese, dim sum, radish cake, steamed cake, turnip cake