Winter Cooking Part 2 - Chinese Radish Steamed cake (蘿蔔糕)

 

A Winter/Spring treat, that makes use of the cured meats and sausage:

You will need:

A round metal tin, preferably with hooks, about 9cm deep, 24cm in diameter.
A large wok for preparing the ingredients
A large flat-bottom metal pan and a  small metal stand (for the steaming part)
A kettle
1.5 kg of Chinese radish, peeled and grated
9 g rice flour
4.5 g corn flour
cooking oil
one small cup of lap cheung, chopped
one small cup of dried shrimp, chopped
one small cup of rehydrated chinese mushroom, chopped
Coriander leaves and sesame seeds to garnish

Using a small piece of kitchen roll, oil the insides of the round metal tin, this is to stop the cake from setting and sticking to the sides.

In the wok, stirfry the lap cheung, shrimp and mushrooms and put to one side.

Now add into the pan the grated radish.  Add a cup of cold water and on a low heat, wait for the radish to turn from white to translucent and the water to start bubbling.

At this point prepare for the steaming: in the large flat bottom pan , place the metal stand in the middle and add boiling water until it covers the metal stand.  Replace the lid and wait for it to boil.

In a separate bowl, mix the rice flour and corn flour and 3 cups of water.  Add this to the radish and add in the other ingredients.

Transfer the mix to the round metal tin.  Smooth the surface with a spoon.  The water in the large pan will be boiling now, carefully place the round tin on top of the metal stand in the pan and replace the lid.  Steam the cake on high heat for at least 45 minutes while checking now and again the water levels in the pan - DO NOT go too far away!

After 45 minutes, you can check if the cake is ready by inserting a chopstick or pin into the center of the cake - if the chopstick or pin comes out clean then it has been cooked thoroughly.

Remove the round tin carefully from the pan.  If there is any condensation on top of the cake after the steaming, you can carefully tip this off into the sink.  Place the tin onto a table mat to cool.  You can now add sesame seeds and coriander leaves to garnish.

Serve immediately or wait until cool and wrap in cling film and store in a cool place for up to one week.  When serving you can slice it into square chunks, fry it in oil so the radish goes crispy and serve with soy sauce.

Enjoy!