Turnip cake is a
CantoneseCantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong in southern China. Of all the regional varieties of Chinese cuisine, Cantonese is renowned both inside and outside China. Its prominence outside China is due to its palatability to Westerners and the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong...
dim sumDim sum is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes served alongside Chinese tea. Yum cha is the term used to describe the entire dining experience, especially in contemporary Cantonese...
dish made of shredded radish (typically Chinese radish or
daikonDaikon , Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, is a mild-flavored, very large, white East Asian radish...
) and plain
rice flourRice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice.Rice flour may be made from either white rice or brown rice. To make the flour, the husk of rice or paddy is removed and raw rice is obtained. The raw rice is then ground to form rice powder, also known as rice flour...
. Despite the name,
turnipThe turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot...
is not an actual ingredient, hence the less commonly-used but more accurate name of
daikon cake. It is sometimes also referred to as
radish cake. During
yum chaYum cha is a term in Cantonese which means "drinking tea". It now refers to the dining experience of eating small servings of different foods, e.g., dim sum, while sipping Chinese tea in Cantonese speaking areas of southern China. It is an integral part of the culinary culture of Guangdong...
, turnip cake is usually cut into square-shaped slices and sometimes
pan-friedPan frying is a form of frying characterized by the use of minimal cooking oil or fat ; typically using just enough oil to lubricate the pan. As a form of frying, pan frying relies on oil as the heat transfer medium and on correct temperature to retain the moisture in the food...
before serving. Each pan-fried cake has a thin crunchy layer on the outside from frying, and soft on the inside.
Turnip cake is a
CantoneseCantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong in southern China. Of all the regional varieties of Chinese cuisine, Cantonese is renowned both inside and outside China. Its prominence outside China is due to its palatability to Westerners and the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong...
dim sumDim sum is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes served alongside Chinese tea. Yum cha is the term used to describe the entire dining experience, especially in contemporary Cantonese...
dish made of shredded radish (typically Chinese radish or
daikonDaikon , Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, is a mild-flavored, very large, white East Asian radish...
) and plain
rice flourRice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice.Rice flour may be made from either white rice or brown rice. To make the flour, the husk of rice or paddy is removed and raw rice is obtained. The raw rice is then ground to form rice powder, also known as rice flour...
. Despite the name,
turnipThe turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot...
is not an actual ingredient, hence the less commonly-used but more accurate name of
daikon cake. It is sometimes also referred to as
radish cake. During
yum chaYum cha is a term in Cantonese which means "drinking tea". It now refers to the dining experience of eating small servings of different foods, e.g., dim sum, while sipping Chinese tea in Cantonese speaking areas of southern China. It is an integral part of the culinary culture of Guangdong...
, turnip cake is usually cut into square-shaped slices and sometimes
pan-friedPan frying is a form of frying characterized by the use of minimal cooking oil or fat ; typically using just enough oil to lubricate the pan. As a form of frying, pan frying relies on oil as the heat transfer medium and on correct temperature to retain the moisture in the food...
before serving. Each pan-fried cake has a thin crunchy layer on the outside from frying, and soft on the inside. The non-fried version is soft overall. It is one of the standard dishes found in the
dim sumDim sum is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes served alongside Chinese tea. Yum cha is the term used to describe the entire dining experience, especially in contemporary Cantonese...
cuisine of
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
,
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, and overseas
ChinatownA Chinatown is a section of an urban area with a large number of Chinese residents, usually outside of Greater China. Chinatowns are present throughout the world, including those in East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe....
restaurants. It is also common in
Chinese New YearChinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is often called the Lunar New Year, especially by people in mainland China and Taiwan. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the...
festivals.
Preparation
To prepare a turnip cake, Chinese radish (similar to
daikonDaikon , Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, is a mild-flavored, very large, white East Asian radish...
) are first shredded. Chinese radish, either the white-and-green variety or the all-white variety, is one of the key ingredients since it makes up a large portion of the cake. The other key ingredients are water and
rice flourRice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice.Rice flour may be made from either white rice or brown rice. To make the flour, the husk of rice or paddy is removed and raw rice is obtained. The raw rice is then ground to form rice powder, also known as rice flour...
. Corn starch is sometimes added as it aids in binding the cake together, especially when a large number of additional ingedients (see list below) are added. The ingredients are stirred together until combined along.
Additional ingredients that provide
umamiis one of the five generally recognized basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human tongue. Umami is a loanword from Japanese meaning roughly "tasty", although "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternative translations. The same taste is also known as...
flavouring can be also added. They include chopped-up pieces of:
- Reconstituted dried shrimp
Dried shrimp are shrimp that have been sun dried and shrunk to a thumbnail size. They are used in many Asian cuisines, imparting a unique umami taste. A handful of shrimp are generally used for dishes...
- Reconstituted dried Shiitake
The Shiitake is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries, as well as being dried and exported to many countries around the world. It is a feature of many Asian cuisines including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai...
- Chinese sausage
Chinese sausage is a generic term referring to the many different types of sausages originating in China. It is commonly known by its Cantonese name "Lap Cheong" or "Lap Chong" .-Varieties:...
- Jinhua ham
Jinhua ham is a type of dry-cured ham named after the city of Jinhua, where it is produced, in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. The ham is used in Chinese cuisines to flavour stewed and braised foods as well as for making the stocks and broths of many Chinese soups...
- Shredded carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange, purple, red, white, or yellow in colour, with a crisp texture when fresh. The edible part of a carrot is a taproot...
s
These flavouring ingredients may first be stir-fried before being added to the radish and flour/starch mixture. Somewhat more luxurious cakes will add larger amounts of these ingredients directly to the mixture. Cheaper variants, especially those sold in
dim sumDim sum is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes served alongside Chinese tea. Yum cha is the term used to describe the entire dining experience, especially in contemporary Cantonese...
restaurants will often just have a sprinking on the top, to keep costs down.
This combined mixture is then poured in a steamer lined with greased aluminum foil or
cellophaneCellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, and bacteria makes it useful for food packaging...
, and steamed at high heat for 40 to 60 minutes until it solidifies into a gelatinous mass.
Note that variations for specific tastes do exist omitting some of the ingredients above (for example carrots are rare) and adding others.
For those with allergies to radishes, some recipes substitute turnip for radish.
TaroTaro is a tropical plant grown primarily as a vegetable food for its edible corm, and secondarily as a leaf vegetable. It is considered a staple in Oceanic cultures. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants...
or
pumpkinPumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It is a common name of or can refer to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata. They are typically orange or yellow and have many creases...
cakes are other variants.
Uses
Although the steamed turnip cake can be consumed straight with soy sauce, they are commonly cooked again to add additional flavours. For instance turnip cake can be sliced into square pieces when cooled and then pan-fried until both sides turn golden. It is served with chili sauce and/or
oyster sauceOyster sauce is a viscous dark brown sauce commonly used in Chinese, Filipino, Thai and Khmer cuisine. It is especially common in Cantonese cuisine.-Origin:...
on the side, as condiments.
Turnip cake can also be stir-fried and made into the dish
Chai tow kwayChai tao kway is a common dish or dim sum of Teochew cuisine in Chaoshan , Singapore and Malaysia...
.
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