Daikon Radish Cake
HARD 2.5 HOURS
• 1 pound rice flour
• 6 full tbsp corn flour
• 4 pounds turnip
• 2 Chinese sausages
• 8 shiitake mushrooms
• 3 oz dried shrimps
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 bundle of cilantro
• 1 bundle of green onion
• 3 shallots (chopped)
• 8 cups of water (including turnip juice)
• 3 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• 2 tsp sugar (prefer cane sugar)
• 1 tsp chicken powder
• Oil
1 Wash dried shrimps and shiitake mushrooms, soak with water until soft.
2 Fry sesame seeds in a pan on low heat until lightly golden. No need to add oil.
3 Peel turnip, shred half of the turnip with a grater and cut the other half into small strips.
4 Mix 1 tsp salt into the turnip, turnip will release its juice after 30 minutes.
5 Dice up the sausage, mushrooms (remove stems), shrimps, shallots, celery, cilantro and green onion and set aside.
6 After 30 minutes, squeeze out the juice from the turnip and keep for later use.
7 Mix 1 pound rice flour and 6 full tbsp corn flour in 4 cups of water to form a batter. Add seasoning. Mix well until the mixture is smooth.
8 Heat wok, add 1 tbsp oil. When wok is hot, stir fry shallots, add in mushroom, shrimps, sausage and ground pepper for 2 minutes, then take out for later use.
9 Heat wok, add 1 tbsp oil. Stir fry the chopped celery and turnip. Mix well.
10 Add 4 cups of diluted turnip juice into the wok, bring the turnips to boil and cook for 10 minutes.
11 Add in batter and mix well with the turnip. Turn heat lower. Stir to obtain a sticky consistency. Add mushrooms, shrimps, sausage into turnip, mix well.
12 Add in 2 tbsp oil to increase the smoothness of the cake. Turn off heat.
13 Use aluminium foil to cover the steam pan, brush a thin layer of oil on aluminium foil, then add in the turnip mixture.
14 Add 8 cups of water to wok or steaming pot, bring to boil. Steam for 90 minutes until cooked. Check occasionally (every 15 minutes) to make sure there is water in the wok/pot and water is not dry up. Add more water if needed.
15 Use a cocktail stick or wooden chopstick to check turnip cake, if the paste is clear then it is cooked.
16 Sprinkle the fried sesame seeds,chopped cilantro and green onion on top of turnip cake to garnish.
17 Cool off turnip cake and put it in the fridge. To serve, slice turnip cake into about ½ inch thick pieces. Pan fry until golden brown.
18 Serve hot with hot chilli sauce.