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| Alternative names | Radish cake |
|---|---|
| Course | Dim sum,yum cha |
| Place of origin | Southern China |
| Region or state | Chinese-speaking areas |
| Main ingredients | Shredded radish (typicallyChinese radish), plainrice flour |
| Variations | Fried,steamed,chai tow kway |
| Turnip cake | |||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 蘿蔔糕 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 萝卜糕 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | radish cake | ||||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 菜頭粿 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Burmese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Burmese | အော်ကေ့ကျီ | ||||||||||||||||
| IPA | [ɔ̀kḛʧì] | ||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese | bánh củ cải | ||||||||||||||||
Turnip cake is aChinesedim sum dish. The less common nameradish cake is more accurate, as Western-style turnips are not used in the dish but rather shredded radish (typicallyChinese radish) and plainrice flour. It is traditionally called "carrot cake" in Singapore.
Turnip cake is commonly served inCantoneseyum 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. The non-fried version is soft all over. It is one of the standard dishes found in thedim sum cuisine of China as well as in overseasChinatown restaurants. It is also commonly eaten duringChinese New Year, since the word for radish (菜頭;chhài-thâu) is a homophone for "good fortune" (好彩頭;hó-chhái-thâu) in theHokkien language.[1] InTaiwan, turnip cake is also commonly eaten as part of breakfast.
The dish is known as "fried carrot cake" or simply "carrot cake" in Southeast Asian countries, as the word fordaikon, one of its main ingredients, can also refer to a carrot (紅菜頭;âng-chhài-thâu; 'red radish'). There is no connection between this dish and the sweet Westerncarrot cake. It is called "carrot cake" because of a loose English translation ofchhài-thâu-kóe, which caught on among the non-native speaking diners. Thismisnomer gave the title to a popular guidebook onSingapore's street food,There's No Carrot in Carrot Cake by Ruth Wan, Roger Hiew, and Leslie Tay, published byEpigram Books in 2010.[2]
In Cantonese, carrot is called 紅蘿蔔 (hung lo bak; red carrot), whereas daikon is called 白蘿蔔 (bak lo bak; white carrot). Because turnip cakes (蘿蔔糕;lo bak go) are made of "white carrot", they are called "carrot cake" in both Cantonese and Mandarin. The Chinese term 糕 (go) has two translations, 'pudding' or 'cake', depending on how it is used.[citation needed]
People call daikon radish a turnip because of its similar appearance to a white turnip and confusion in translation and culinary history.[citation needed]
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To prepare a turnip cake, daikon roots are first shredded.[3] 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:
These flavoring 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.
For those with allergies to radishes, some recipes substitute turnip for radish.[citation needed]Taro cakes orpumpkin cakes are other variants.
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Although the steamed turnip cakes can be consumed straight with soy sauce, they are commonly cooked again to add additional flavors. For instance, turnip cake can be sliced into rectangular pieces when cooled and then pan-fried until both sides turn golden. It is served withchili sauce and/orhoisin sauce on the side ascondiments.
Turnip cake can also be stir-fried and made into the dishchai tow kway.
