Chinese Radish Cake

Fried Lor Bak Go

Having eaten a rather poor version of "lor bak go" (chinese radish cake) recently at a chinese restaurant that I shall not name, I decided to re-create an old family favourite.

Obtaining the ingredients was not too difficult - there is a reasonably well stocked Asian supermarket about 45min drive away from home. Stepping into this grocery, one is greeted, no, almost assaulted with a heady aroma of dried shrimp, shitake mushrooms, rice, pickled vegetables - a visit to this treasure store of exotic foods always yields a basket full of goodies.

Ingredients for Lor Bak Go

Traditionally eaten during the Lunar New Year celebrations (at least by my family), Lor Bak Go is also a firm fixture on the dim sum menu of many Chinese Restaurants.


The difference between a bad lor bak go and a good one is like chalk and cheese. A bad one is almost always very stodgy, tasteless and has very little radish, much less chinese sausage, shitake mushrooms or shrimp. It also has the consistency of an eraser - rubbery.

Plain rice flour

A good one, on the other had, is light, flavourful and has plenty of shredded radish just about held together by rice flour, interspersed between the strands of radish will be nuggets of scrumptious chinese sausage (lup cheong), bits of fragrant shitake mushrooms and boldly flavoured dried shrimp. It can be eaten just fresh out of the steamer or cut into thick slices and pan fried. I just looooove the crisp brown edges of the fried version. Accompanied by a dollop of chilli jam and thick black soy sauce - absolutely scrumptious !!

So here's my take on Chinese Radish Cake:

Ingredients:
1 large chinese radish (daikon)
about 1kg 1.5 cups rice flour (approx 250g)*
6 dried shitake mushrooms
2 chinese sausages (lup cheong)
1/4 cup dried shrimp, chopped
1 tsp salt 2-3tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp white pepper 2 cups water
* this proportion of radish to flour (9:1) makes for a very soft but flavourful cake, a bit difficult to slice and fry. For a slightly firmer cake, add more flour but not more than 4:1.

Method:
1. Rinse and soak the shitake mushrooms.
2. Roughly chop the dried shrimp and cut the sausage into a fine dice. Do the same with the mushrooms once they are rehydrated. Reserve the mushroom water.
3. Grate the daikon (use the large grater - for better texture)
4. Heat oil in a large wok and fry the sausage till brown, then add the shrimp and mushrooms.
5. Add the radish and reserved mushroom water and cook over medium heat for about 5-10min, till the radish is cooked but al dente. Season with salt, pepper and soy sauce. It should not be too salty.
6. Mix the rice flour with about 1 cup of water.
7. Add the rice flour slurry to the hot radish mixture and stir till well mixed - the mixture will get increasing stiff - after about 5 min, turn the heat off.
8. Test fry a tablespoon in a small non stick frying pan. This is to make sure that the mixture is well seasoned and has the right proportions of water and flour. Add more flour or water as necessary to achieve your desired consistency.
9. Pour the mixture into well greased baking trays (this recipe makes 2 loaf tins) and steam for 1 hour.
10. Allow to cool before turning out. The lor bak go can be eaten as is or cut into thick slices and pan fried. For slicing, better results are achieved if the cake is left to firm up overnight in the fridge.

Enjoy!