Turnip Cake (Radish Cake) – Chinese Lo Bak Go (update)

The turnip cake is a home-style Cantonese dim sum from Guangzhou, China. It is also a popular dim sum in restaurants in Guangzhou.

In China, for the Chinese new year, many people will make taro cake, turnip cakes, water chestnut cake, or fortune cake, which brings good luck for the coming new year.

The turnip is also very nutritious.

Turnip cake is actually very simple to make, but you still want to pay close attention to the ratio between ingredients, and production techniques.

These are some of the problems and experiences that I have encountered in the process of making this cake:

1. First, the turnip must be fresh, sweet and juicy. Secondly, the thickness of the cut turnip is important. (too thin and you won’t have the right texture, too thick and the cake won’t form correctly).

2. The ratio of turnip and rice slurry directly affect the taste and texture of Turnip cake:

a. The proportion of rice flour and turnip is important. The amount of rice flour used in many recipes on the Internet is quite a lot. The appearance will be more structured, but the taste is not as good. The taste varies from person to person. I like turnips more, but with less rice, the turnip cake is not as smooth and beautiful, so the proportion should be moderate. I hope to use the minimum amount of rice flour to make a beautiful and delicious Turnip cake.

I tried rice flour with 25% and 30% turnip, but it doesn’t slice cleanly.

The rice flour which has 30% of turnip, is slightly less radiant than the 25%, but it is easier to slice.

Therefore, the amount of rice flour can be referenced to 25% to 30% (in this case, the formula of rice flour is 28% turnip).

b. The ratio of rice slurry (rice and water) and ingredients: Too much water in rice slurry and the turnip cake will be too soft, and the proportion of rice flour and water in this cake is about 1:1.2-1.5, which is moderate.

Therefore, the amount of water should be appropriately increased or decreased according to the actual situation and your preference of a soft or hard texture. If you want to have a softer texture, you can add more water.

The following recipe is based on my own practice and the opinions of everyone after tasting. After several adjustments, the taste of the finished products will be to your liking.

3. Techniques:

There are basically two ways to make this recipe-

One is to add the appropriate amount of water (or radish water) when frying the turnip, and pour it into rice flour.

The other method is to add rice flour to the rice slurry. All the materials are fried and poured into the rice slurry. I have tried both of these practices.

The second practice is easier to master. I feel that when I operate, I only need to pay attention to frying the dried radish with water and there will be no excess moisture. The moisture affects the thickness of the rice slurry.

The above is just to share a little personal experience for reference only. Each person’s taste is different. The amount and proportion of various materials can be appropriately added, subtracted and adjusted according to their favorite taste and taste.

It is not difficult to do it, and it is not easy to do it. The intention will make a delicious for yourself!

Ingredients: (The mold is optional, my mold size: 15cm*13.3cm*4.5cm)

• 1) 650g of Peeled turnip
• 2) 50g of Sausage
• 3) 25g of Bacon
• 4) 15g of Dried Shrimp
• 5) 15g of dried Scallop
• 6) 130g of Rice flour
• 7) 50g wheat starch
• 8) Water 230g (the amount of water increases or decreases according to your preference)

Seasoning:

• 1) White pepper 1g
• 2) Ginger juice
• 3) Salt 4.8g
• 4) Sugar 12g

Procedure:

Step 1: Shrimp and scallops are soaked in about 250g of hot water (keep the water). Dice the shrimp, sausage and bacon, and break apart the scallops.

Step 2: The rice is ground with the food processor. If you have ready-made sticky rice flour, you can skip this step.

Step 3: The turnip is peeled and planed into thin pieces (note the turnip should not be too fine nor too thick)

Step 4: Put the rice flour into a bowl, add 200g of water (water of dried shrimp and scallop), stir into a slurry, add seasonings such as pepper, ginger, salt, and sugar, and 50g wheat starch. Mix well.

Step 5: Heat the pan, add the sausage and bacon until it starts to brown, then add shrimp and scallops. Saute, and set aside.

Step 6: Add the turnip into a wok and fry it until it is soft. If it is too dry, add a little water. If there is too much water, use a spoon to scoop it out.

After frying, the bottom of the pan will be dry. This is how you know you are making a stable finished product.

Step 7: Add the fried sausage and bacon and stir well. After the mixture is finished cooking, there should be no excess moisture in the bottom of the pan. Make sure you turn off the heat before move to the next step.

Step 8: Pour the rice slurry in and mix well. If it is very watery, you can evaporate some of the moisture it by putting it on low heat. If it feels dry, add a little water.

Step 9: Mix all the ingredients and put them into the mold, press it flat with a spoon, cover with plastic wrap, put the turnip cake in after the water is boiling. Steam for about 45 minutes, depending on the cake size and thickness, you can adjust the time.

Step 10: Turnip cake steamed and left to cool, until it is solidified. Then you can slice according to your favorite size, put in the refrigerator or freezer to store. To enjoy, you can heat up a little oil in a pan and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Turnip Cake (Radish Cake) – Chinese Lo Bak Go (Update)

The turnip cake is a home-style Cantonese dim sum from Guangzhou, China. It is also a popular dim sum in restaurants in Guangzhou.

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Course: Snack

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 650 g of Peeled turnip
• 50 g of Sausage
• 25 g of Bacon
• 15 g of Dried Shrimp
• 15 g of dried Scallop
• 130 g of Rice flour
• 50 g wheat starch
• 230 g Water the amount of water increases or decreases according to your preference

Seasoning:

• 1 g White pepper
• Ginger juice
• 4.8 g Salt
• 12 g Sugar

Instructions

• Shrimp and scallops are soaked in about 250g of hot water (keep the water). Dice the shrimp, sausage and bacon, and break apart the scallops.
• The rice is ground with the food processor. If you have ready-made sticky rice flour, you can skip this step.
• The turnip is peeled and planed into thin pieces (note the turnip should not be too fine nor too thick).
• Put the rice flour into a bowl, add 200g of water (water of dried shrimp and scallop), stir into a slurry, add seasonings such as pepper, ginger, salt, and sugar, and 50g wheat starch. Mix well.
• Heat the pan, add the sausage and bacon until it starts to brown, then add shrimp and scallops. Saute, and set aside.
• Add the turnip into a wok and fry it until it is soft. If it is too dry, add a little water. If there is too much water, use a spoon to scoop it out. After frying, the bottom of the pan will be dry. This is how you know you are making a stable finished product.
• Add the fried sausage and bacon and stir well. After the mixture is finished cooking, there should be no excess moisture in the bottom of the pan. Make sure you turn off the heat before move to the next step.
• Pour the rice slurry in and mix well. If it is very watery, you can evaporate some of the moisture it by putting it on low heat. If it feels dry, add a little water.
• Mix all the ingredients and put them into the mold, press it flat with a spoon, cover with plastic wrap, put the turnip cake in after the water is boiling. Steam for about 45 minutes, depending on the cake size and thickness, you can adjust the time.
• Turnip cake steamed and left to cool, until it is solidified. Then you can slice according to your favorite size, put in the refrigerator or freezer to store. To enjoy, you can heat up a little oil in a pan and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Tried this recipe? Tag me on Instagram!Do you make this recipe? I’d love to see it! Tag me on Instagram at @yumofchina.