Taiwanese Turnip Cake (Made With Basmati Rice)
Learn how to make Taiwanese turnip cake using basmati rice, which gives a fresh and pure rice fragrance that beats anything made with powder from a package!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 327kcal
Equipment
- grater
- blender
- Steamer
Ingredients
- 200 g basmati rice
- 200 g water
- 450 g daikon radish weigh after peeling
- 1.5 tablespoon tapioca starch or corn starch
- 3 tablespoon cooking oil
- ½ tablespoon dried shrimp minced
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder
- 3 tablespoon crispy fried shallot
Garlic Soy Dipping Sauce
- 1-2 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
Prepare Rice
- Rinse basmati rice and drain very well with a strainer.
- Soak the rice in water overnight in the fridge. The total weight of rice and water should be around 420-450g (see note).
Prepare Radish and Rice Mixture.
- Peel the radish (see note), cut off a small piece (around 60-70 gram) and grate the rest. You can also use a food processer with a shredding disc.
- Add tapioca starch and blend for another 30 seconds on medium speed.
Make the Turnip Cake Batter
- Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan with minced dried shrimp over medium heat until the oil is bubbling before adding grated daikon into the pan.
- Stir and cook until the water comes out before adding salt, sugar, white pepper powder and crispy fried shallot. Stir until well combined. The radish mixture should be very watery at this point, but if it's not, add some water until the radish is mostly soaked in water.
- Turn the heat down to low, cover, and let it cook for 5-7 minutes until the radish is cooked through and becomes translucent.
- Stir the rice mixture before pouring into the pan. Stir and fold with a spatula until the batter sticks together and becomes one large lump.
- Put the batter into a glass container (the one I use is 6.5"W x 4.5"L x 2.5"H) or any kind of heat resistant container that can fit into your steamer.
- Cover the top with a piece of plastic wrap and press the batter down before smoothing out the surface.
Steam the Turnip Cake
- Boil at least 10 cups of water in a pot that you are going to use for steaming the turnip cake (see note).
- When the water is boiling, set your steamer over the pot and steam for 60 minutes over medium high heat.
Pan fry the turnip cake and serve
- After the turnip cake is done steaming, let it cool down completely before chilling in the fridge overnight. This allows it to firm up for easy slicing.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 3-4 tablespoon of cooking oil, when the oil is hot, place the sliced turnip cake in the pan and cook until both sides become golden brown.
Dipping Sauce
- Mix minced garlic, soy sauce, water and sugar together until well combined.
Notes
- The firmness of the turnip cake depends on the amount of water you add. I would recommend following the recipe for the first time and then adjusting the amount of soaking water based on your own preference.
- When peeling the radish, peel two layers to help remove the bitter taste from the daikon radish.
- If you are vegetarian/vegan, you can replace dried shrimp with 3-4 shiitake mushroom (soaked and diced) or just omit it altogether.
- Make sure you add enough water in the steaming pot. If the steaming water dries up in the middle of the steaming process (Steam is no longer coming out of the top), add some more boiling water into the pot.
Nutrition
Serving: 2slice | Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 782mg | Potassium: 351mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 1mg