Radish cake

Alternative names	Turnip cake,chai tow kway, carrot cake
Course	Dim sum,yum cha
Place of origin	East andSoutheast Asia
Region or state	Southern China (Chaoshan,Guangdong,Hong Kong),Taiwan,Singapore,Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia
Associatedcuisine	Chinese
Main ingredients	Shreddeddaikon radish, plainrice flour
Variations	pan fried,steamed,stir fried
Media: Radish cake

Radish cake,^[1]turnip cake^[1] orchai tow kway^[a][2][3] is aChinese dish made of steamedrice flour and shreddeddaikon radish often served asdim sum. It is traditionally calledcarrot cake inSingapore,^[2] but has no relation to Europeancarrot cake.^[3] Radish cake is commonly served inCantonese andTeochew (Chaoshan)yum cha, usually cut into rectangular slices and sometimespan-fried before serving. Each pan-fried cake has a thin crunchy layer on the outside from frying, and is soft on the inside, whereas the steamed version is soft all over. Often served with asoya-oyster dipping sauce, it is one of the standard dishes found in the dim sum cuisine of China and is widely consumed inIndonesia,Singapore,Malaysia,Thailand,Taiwan andVietnam, as well as in overseasChinatown restaurants. InSoutheast Asia, the cakes are often chopped into smaller cubes andstir fried with additional ingredients.

In Chinese, radish cake is most commonly calledluóbo gāo (蘿蔔糕) inMandarin Chinese,lòbaahk gōu (蘿蔔糕) inCantonese andchhài-thâu-ké (菜頭粿) inHokkien.^[4] The latter is the source of the name "chai tow kway" that is commonly used in English in Southeast Asia.

Luóbo (蘿蔔) is a common name for thedaikon radish (Raphanus sativus var.longipinnatus), often more specifically calledbáiluóbo (白蘿蔔; "white daikon radish"). The suffixgāo (糕) refers to "cake" in a very broad sense and includes various cakes, loafs and pastes, whether sweet or savoury, such asnian gao. Likewise, the Hokkienchhài-thâu (菜頭) is the daikon radish,^[5] while the-ké or-kóe (粿) suffix is used for various steamed rice or tapioca cakes.^[6]

InHakka, it is referred to aslò-phe̍t-pán (蘿蔔粄) orchhoi-thèu-pán (菜頭粄),^[7] with the suffix-pán (粄) used to refer to snacks or cakes made fromglutinous rice flour.^[7]

Though theturnip (Brassica rapa subsp.rapa) is a different plant to a radish, the common English name "turnip cake" likely arose because white daikon radishes were largely unknown outside of East and Southeast Asia and the name "turnip" was applied due to their similar appearance.^[8]

In Chinese, the carrot is often referred to as "red radish"^[b] As a result, the English word "carrot" has been transferred to the daikon radish in Singapore and Malaysia and the name "fried carrot cake" or simply "carrot cake" came to be applied to the radish cake, though it is unrelated to the sweet Europeancarrot cake.^[3] Thismisnomer gave the title to a popular 2010 guidebook on Singapore's street food,There's No Carrot in Carrot Cake by Ruth Wan, Roger Hiew and Leslie Tay.^[10]

In Taiwan, one story explaining the popularity of the dish and its significance at the Lunar New Year goes back to the 17th centuryQing takeover of Taiwan.^[1] Before his suicide in the face of this takeover, exiled pretender to theMing throneZhu Shugui bequeathed farmland that he owned to local farmers.^[1] In gratitude, these people and their descendants secretly went to his gravevenerate him, using radish cakes as one of their offerings on his death anniversary, on his birthday and at the Lunar New Year.^[1] This veneration of the last Ming claimant was conducted in secret and passed down through the generations until the end of Qing rule in 1895.^[1] Subsequently, eating radish cakes spread throughout Taiwan.^[1] Daikon radishes were largely a winter crop in Taiwan, making radish cakes a seasonal specialty, but innovations in cultivation and development of new radish varieties in the 20th century have allowed it to become a year-round favorite.^[1]

In Hong Kong, it is speculated that the association of the dish with the Lunar New Year arose from radishes being cheaper and of better quality in the winter.^[11]

Singapore Infopedia ascribes the dish in that country toTeochew (Chaoshan) immigrants from China to Singapore.^[2] The original dish, calledbí-ko (米糕, "rice cake") or simplyko-kóe (糕粿 "(rice) cake") was made from rice flour and milled puffed rice but no radish.^[2] In Singapore, it became known aschar kueh (炒粿 "fried rice cake"), where it was cut into cubes and stir-fried with dark soya sauce.^[2] A new name,chai tow kway, is self-attributed byhawker Ng Soik Theng, when she added radish to the cakes in the 1960s.^[2] Hawker Lau Goh then became famous for a light soya sauce version in the 1970s.^[2]

To prepare a radish cake, daikon roots are first shredded.^[12] 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 andrice flour.Corn starch is sometimes added as it aids in binding the cake together, especially when a large number of additional ingredients (see list below) are added. The ingredients are stirred together until combined.

Additional ingredients that provideumami flavouring can be also added. They include diced or minced pieces of:

• Dried shrimp
• Driedshiitake
• Chinese sausage
• Jinhua ham

These flavouring ingredients may first bestir-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 sum restaurants, will often have just a sprinkling on top to keep costs down.

This mixture is then poured into a steamer lined with greasedaluminum foil orcellophane, andsteamed at high heat for 40 to 60 minutes until it solidifies into a gelatinous mass.

The radish cake is often served in large rectangular slabs which are steamed and then later fried whole.

Aschai tow kway, it is steamed and then stir-fried in a wok with eggs,preserved radish [zh] (chai poh [菜脯]), and other seasonings. It is commonly served topped withspring onions (scallions). In hawker stalls, it is sometimes served wrapped in abanana leaf and may be eaten with a bamboo skewer.

Although the steamed radish cakes can be consumed plain dipped in soya sauce, they are commonly cooked again to add additional flavors. For instance, they can be sliced into rectangular pieces when cooled and then pan-fried until both sides turn golden. They are then served withchili sauce and/orhoisin sauce on the side ascondiments.

The Cantonese radish cake typical of dim sum restaurants is soft and often filled with other ingredients. Taiwanese radish cake is firmer with fewer other ingredients mixed in.

Radish cake can also be stir-fried and made into the dishchai tow kway. In Singapore, however, it is more commonly cut into pieces and stir-fried witheggs,garlic, spring onions (scallions) and occasionallyshrimp (bothdried and fresh). There are two variants: the "white" version uses alight soya sauce [zh] and/orfish sauce, and the radish cake is fried on top of a beaten egg to form a crust; the "black" version uses sweet dark soya sauce, and the egg is simply mixed in with the radish cake. Sometimes the cubes of radish cake and ingredients are all cooked together as a large omelette or pancake.^[2]

The versions served byhawkers in Singapore andJohor in southern Malaysia, whereTeochew people live, are typically prepared by frying the radish cake with chopped preserved daikon, diced garlic, eggs, and Chinese fish sauce in place ofsoya sauce. Chopped spring onions are added just before serving. Further northwards in Malaya (e.g. inKuala Lumpur), the same dish is darker due to the use ofdark soya sauce, andbean sprouts are added. InPenang, this darker version is known aschar koay kak^[c] (炒粿角;chhá-kóe-kak; "fried [rice] cake cubes"). Darker versions are seldom served in Singapore but are more common in Malaysia.

Taro cakes closely resemble radish cakes, and alternatives to the rice flour and radishchai tow kway include those made oftaro or solely of rice flour, the latter common in Malaysia. For those with allergies to radishes, some recipes substitute turnip for radish.^{[citation needed]}

In Taiwan, radish cake is often eaten during theLunar New Year, since the word for radish (菜頭;chhài-thâu) is a nearhomophone for "good fortune" (好彩頭;hó-chhái-thâu) in theHokkien language.^[13] For reasons that are less clear it is also a popular dish for theChinese New Year amongCantonese,^[11] although thegōu (糕) oflòbaahk gōu (蘿蔔糕) is a homophone ofgōu (高) meaning "high" and indicating a wish for rising prosperity in the new year (cf.nian gao).

The dish is popular in Singapore and Malaysia, enjoyed byTeochews as well as people of various dialects and races, and served in both hawker stalls and upscale Chinese restaurants. It is a much-loved local comfort food in the region, and can be consumed at various times of the day; it goes from being a breakfast dish, to a main lunch dish, to a late-night supper dish. Many public figures are also known to have a fondness for the dish. Notably, the Singaporean politicianChan Chun Sing declared his love for the dish in one of his speeches, specifying a preference of a particular variant of the dish (the "S$10XO sauce chye tow kuay"),^[14] as opposed to the one commonly found in hawker centres and coffee shops, thus illustrating the many variations of the dish available in the region.

In Taiwan, radish cake is also commonly eaten as part of breakfast,^[15] and is sometimes battered with egg and (re-)fried (雞卵菜頭粿).

• 
  Radish cake in the Hague, Netherlands
• 
  Radish cake with dipping sauce in Taiwan
• 
  Radish cake in Cleveland, Ohio, USA
• 
  Chai tow kway in Singapore
• 
  Radish cake at Dim Sum 8 in Taipei, Taiwan
• 
  Radish cake as part of a Taiwanese breakfast
• 
  Radish cake in Hong Kong
• 
  Radish cakes (white) andtaro cakes for sale in a Hong Kong supermarket
• 
  A whole homemade radish cake with shrimp

• Nian gao, a similar Chinese rice cake also eaten at New Years
• Bánh bột chiên, a similar Vietnamese rice cake
• O-tao, a similar Thai taro-based dish
• Water chestnut cake, a dim sum cake of similar appearance
• List of steamed foods

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRadish cakes.

• Sue-On's KitchenArchived 2009-08-05 at theWayback Machine

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