Chinese Radish Cake Recipe - Lo Bak Gou Steamed and Fried

A Chinese New Year tradition for us, we make this delicious radish cake annually. Can be consumed steamed, pan fried or fried with egg.

Start by soaking 4 Chinese mushrooms in water for 2 hours. Soak a handful of dried shrimp and dried scallops separately in water for 1 hour. After soaking, combine all the soaking water into a container. 

Grate about 750g of radish. Slice thinly another 150g of radish. Combine the 2 radishes in another container. If you find that one radish is not enough, simply use the 750g grated portion will do, or have a total combined weight of at least 750g for both grated and sliced radish. 

Add the combined radish into a wok, followed by the soaking water. Make sure the radish is drained of excess water before adding. Cook the radish for about 10 minutes until the radish is soft.

Next, strain the radish and retain the cooking liquid. Pour out 1 cup of the liquid into a container or a bowl. Add 130g rice flour, 30g wheat flour and 30g corn flour to the liquid. Mix well until you get a smooth and thick white batter. 

I In the same wok, fry 2 chopped shallots until they are aromatic. Next add 1 finely diced Chinese sausage and 1 finely diced waxed duck liver. Fry for a minute to render the meat fat.

Next, add the pre soaked dried shrimp, dried scallops and Chinese mushrooms. Fry for a few minutes until the flavours are well mixed. Season with some Sarawak white pepper.

Add the radish and mix well. Season with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp Chinese wine, 1 tsp light soya sauce and more pepper. Stir and mix well. Once everything is mixed well, add the flour batter and stir until you get a sticky batter mixture.

Remove from stove and pour the mixture into an aluminium tray that has been lightly oiled at the bottom. Smoothen the surface. Then steam the mixture in wok for about 1 hour.

After an hour, the steamed radish cake will have set. You can use a long toothpick or satay stick to poke all the way in and when removed, you shouldn’t get any or too much sticky batter stuck to the stick. 

Let the cake cook down, then cover with a flat plate and flip the cake onto the plate. It should be firm on the outside and slightly jiggly. Garnish with diced bak kwa and green scallion.

To eat it as a steamed cake, simply reheat by steaming a wok for 10 minutes. Once it’s warmed up, just cut into slices to enjoy.

To pan fry, cut the cake into thick strips. Pan fry the strips in a pan with some oil until they turn a crusty golden brown on both sides. Plate and enjoy with some chilli sauce. 

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