Chinese Turnip Cake
Serves: 3 to 4
Recreate this Dim Sum specialty, Chinese Turnip Cake (or Daikon Radish Cake), at home with the delicious and authentic recipe. Recipe with step-by-step photos.
Ingredients
For the Chinese Turnip Cake
- 1 kg (2 lb) daikon radishes
- 6-8 dried shitake mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 Chinese sausages, finely diced
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 180 g (1 ⅔ cups) rice flour
- 3 tablespoons cornflour, (US: cornstarch)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons spring onions, (scallions) finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- white pepper, freshly cracked
To Serve
- soy sauce
- Sriracha, Homemade Chilli Oil or hot chilli sauce
- coriander, (cilantro) finely chopped
Instructions
To make the Chinese Turnip Cake
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes until they have softened.
- Drain the mushrooms and gently squeeze out any excess water.
- Finely dice the mushrooms and set aside.
- Peel the daikon radishes and coarsely grate them. I do this using a food processor with the grater attachment.
- Place the grated daikon radishes into a large pot and cover with cold water.
- Bring the pot to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
- Cook the radishes for about 45 minutes until they are very tender.
- Whilst the radishes are cooking, heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan.
- Cook the Chinese sausages for about 5 minutes until they have softened and have released some of their fat.
- Add the chopped shallots and cook until the shallots have softened.
- Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool.
- Drain the radishes but do not squeeze out any liquid.
- Return the cooked radishes to the pot.
- Add the rice flour, cornflour, and sesame oil to the radishes.
- Mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Add the shallots and Chinese sausage mixture to the radishes, together with the spring onions (scallions) and shiitake mushrooms.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix until everything is well combined.
To cook the Chinese Turnip Cake
- To steam the turnip cake, you can either use a 21 x 11 cm (8 x 4 inch) loaf pan or 20 cm (8 inch) round cake pan. Generously grease the cake pan of your choice with some oil.
- Pour the mixture into the cake pan.
- Steam the cake for 45 mins to 1 hour on low heat (the water should only be lightly simmering), until the cake is set and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean (see Kitchen Notes).
- Once cooked, leave the turnip cake to cool completely, and then refrigerate for at least a 1-2 hours to set.
To serve
- Heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Unmould the turnip cake and cut into thick slices.
- Fry the slices in batches until they are lightly golden on each side. I like to cook them until they have a nice, golden and crispy crust, but some people prefer to keep the cake soft in texture.
- Sprinkle the turnip cake with freshly chopped coriander (cilantro), and serve with soy sauce and Sriracha or Homemade Chilli Oil.
Kitchen Notes
- COOKING TIME
Depending on what shape or size cake pan you are using, you may have to adjust the steaming time accordingly. - TIPS FOR STEAMING
* If using a loaf pan, I steam the cake in an oval-shaped Dutch oven with a wire rack on the bottom of the pan. I also tightly wrap the loaf pan in some foil (not shown in photo) to prevent any water from getting inside the pan. Pour boiling water into the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
* If using a round cake pan, I steam the cake in a couscousier, a bamboo steamer, or a stainless steel Chinese steamer.
* If you are using a steam oven, steam at 100°C/212°F for 30-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.