I have been listing some new dishes that I can make for breakfast. Savory dishes. Because yes, this is true, people here do get tired of eating cake or muffins occasionally.
I looked around and decided that a Chinese radish cake was the way to go. It is cheap to make, and can be made ahead of time, kept frozen and thawed to be pan-fried whenever needed, and everyone loves radish cake.
This first recipe I tried was from this book that I own. I had tried other recipes from the same book with much success, so when the radish cake was done, I was really disappointed. It was not soft and I really didn’t like the taste and mouth feel.
Coincidentally, a couple of days after my attempt at making the not-so-great radish cake, a friend posted a photo of this radish cake she had made.
That looked like the type of cake I was after, so I asked her for the recipe, and got on with making the cake!
This recipe made so much more sense to me, both in the quantities of ingredients, as well as the method of making the radish cake. And sure enough, this time round, I had a soft radish cake.
I am in radish cake heaven!
Here are the step-by-step pictorial instructions on how to make this. You should really try making this at home because it is so so good and cost so much less than what is being sold in the shops.
Start by steaming the Chinese sausage (and Chinese bacon, if using) for about 5 minutes. Once steamed, let them cool before finely dicing them. I didn’t have Chinese bacon, so I doubled the quantity of the Chinese sausage.
If you are using dried radish, soak them in warm water for about 10-15 minutes before chopping them into small pieces.
Similarly, soak the dried shrimps in warm water also for 10-15 minutes. If the shrimps are big, chop them into smaller pieces. I used smaller shrimps so I left them whole.
Thinly slice the shallots and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together rice flour and wheat starch. Set this aside.
Add a little oil into a heated wok. Fry the Chinese sausage (and Chinese bacon) for a minute or so.
Add dried shrimps and fry until fragrant.
Add dried radish and fry a further one to two minutes. Transfer this into a bowl and set aside.
In the same wok, add a little more oil. Fry the shallots until they are soft.
Add radish and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Season with white pepper.
Add chicken (or vegetable) stock. Recipe for home made chicken stock can be found here. Most commercial stocks have salt already added to them. If you are using store-bought stock, dilute with water before using.
Cover the wok and cook over medium heat until the radish has turned tender and translucent. This will take about 4-5 minutes. Once cooked, transfer this (carefully) into a large bowl.
Add the flours and stir to mix.
Add the cooked ingredients and stir until well-distributed.
You should be able to stir the mixture without needing to use much force. If you find that you need to put in quite a bit of effort to stir, add a little water.
Transfer the mixture into a lightly greased 7×7-inch pan, or 8-inch round pan, or 2 9×5-inch loaf pans.
Smooth the tops and steam over high heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
To test if the cake is done. insert a chopstick into the cake. If it emerges cleanly, then it is ready.
Cool the cake, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 4 hours before cutting into pieces.
Pan-fry them with a little oil.
Alternatively, you can also eat the cake as is, garnished with chopped spring onion, fried shallots and sliced chili.
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- 1 kg Chinese white radish (daikon), shredded
- 170 g rice flour
- 4 ablespoons wheat starch
- 40 gm Chinese sausage (臘腸)
- 45 gm Chinese bacon (臘肉) - I replace with the same quantity of Chinese sausage
- 55 gm Chinese dried shrimps
- 60 gm salted radish
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup (180ml) unsalted chicken broth
- pinch of white pepper
- Steam the Chinese sausage (and Chinese bacon, if using) for about 5 minutes. Once steamed, let them cool before finely dicing them.
- If you are using dried radish, soak them in warm water for about 10-15 minutes before chopping them into small pieces.
- Similarly, soak the dried shrimps in warm water also for 10-15 minutes. If the shrimps are big, chop them into smaller pieces. I used smaller shrimps so I left them whole.
- In a large bowl, mix together rice flour and wheat starch. Set this aside.
- Add a little oil into a heated wok. Fry the Chinese sausage (and Chinese bacon) for a minute or so.
- Add dried shrimps and fry until fragrant.
- Add dried radish and fry a further one to two minutes. Transfer this into a bowl and set aside.
- In the same wok, add a little more oil. Fry the shallots until they are soft.
- Add radish and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.Season with white pepper. Add chicken (or vegetable) stock.10. Cover the wok and cook over medium heat until the radish has turned tender and translucent. This will take about 4-5 minutes. Once cooked, transfer this (carefully) into a large bowl. Add the flours and stir to mix.
- Add the cooked ingredients and stir until well-distributed. You should be able to stir the mixture without needing much force. If you find that you need to put in quite a bit of effort to stir, add a little water.
- Transfer the mixture into a lightly greased 7x7-inch pan, or 8-inch round pan, or 2 9x5-inch loaf pans.
- Smooth the tops and steam over high heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour. To test if the cake is done. insert a chopstick into the cake. If it emerges cleanly, then it is ready.
- Cool the cake, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 4 hours before cutting into pieces and pan-frying them with a little oil. Alternatively, you can also eat the cake as is, garnished with chopped spring onion, fried shallots and sliced chili.
Are you planning to cook anything special for this Christmas??? Or maybe start baking batches of delicious Christmas goodies? For Christmas 2014, Yen from Eat your heart out, Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and yours truly, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and are cooking and celebrating for the whole month of December 2014 starting on 1st December. Join us and remember to link your post with us if you are cooking something special for your Christmas celebration.
I’ll definitely try this the next time with more ‘liao’ instead of my simple version. Good idea to serve it in 2 ways.
Diana, this I like! I like! Is this the radish cake that can also be cut into cubes and then stir fried like char koay teow? If I am not mistake it is called “char koay kark”. I am bookmarking this recipe but have to put on hold first because these things go straight to my thighs, my butt and my “pork belly” LOL!
How do I keep the fresh radish from being so wet when I shred it? I hv seen in Japanese restaurant and their shredded radish are always so dry and also the same for Yu Sheng radish.. Please advise…thx
Hi Diana
Thx for recipe! Any idea if I can replace wheat starch with corn starch/flour?
Happy New Year!
Hi Cecilia not really – the texture of the cake will be different. Wheat starch is normally used for making dim sum, esp dumplings. You can find them easily at supermarkets or at PH.
Hi Diana, can i know what brand did you get for the unsalted chicken broth? The usual one like Swanston and Heinz seems to be all salted…
Hi I buy organic low-sodium broth when I can find them (in organic food sections) but otherwise, I make my own. The recipe link is here: http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2015/02/home-made-chicken-stock/
do you think we can replace radish with yam?
yes but you may have to adjust the quantity of yam added
Thanks.. will do some experiments! And good luck with the award!
Thank you 🙂
May i ask what kind of rice flour you use? would it be normal rice flour or glutinous rice flour?
Hi I used Normal rice flour and wheat starch.
Thanks for the clear instructions & pictures. My first attempt turned out quite well
HI that is awesome! Thank you for your feedback 🙂
Hi hi! Thanks for sharing this receipe! I tried it yesterday and it was good!! My family likes it too!
That is awesome Siew Peng 🙂
Hi there!
Thanks for the recipe! Looks pretty easy. I’m going to try making. But may I ask what is salted radish and where can I find it? Is there a Chinese name for it?
Hi Karen salted radish is also called chai poh, you can see here: https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=salted+radish&biw=1920&bih=955&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIvpC7wIfKAhXPA44KHZGNCWwQsAQIGQ
Ah… I know chai poh. Thanks!
Hi Diana, this recipe looks delish!! I am so gonna pin this for upcoming CNY! Yay.. Btw, anyway we can omit the chinese sausages totally from the recipe? Cheers, diana
Can I replace rice flour with glutinous rice flour and wheat starck with tapioca starch or corn flour?
Hi Eva unfortunately, no. They are all different.
Hi
Thank you for the recipe, It looks delicious. May i know whether wheat starch and wheat flour is the same thing ?
Hi thank you – no they are not the same!
Hi Diana,
Please advise how many tsp or tbsp of wheat flour to use in order to get the consistency of the 4 tbsp of wheat starch for this recipe?
Thank you & Regards,
Pat
Hi Pat, wheat starch and wheat flour are completely different things..
Hi Diana,
Pardon me.. I’m not very good in this… To make this wheat starch is wheat flour add water and become a bit starchy?
Thank you!
Pat
Hi Pat pls google “wheat starch”
Hi Pat, I took Diana’s advice and google it – this is the answer i get :
Wheat starch or tang meen fun, or Tang flour is all the gluten has been removed. When mixed with water it produces a pastry dough. It is mainly used as a wrapping for dumplings such as ‘har kau’or ‘choy pau.’ It cannot be substituted with potato or other starches. It has different properties and will give food a different texture. It gives a very transparent or translucent texture. It is essential that the proportion of wheat starch to water be well balanced when making the pastry for har kau.
Is there a remedy if my steamed radish cake turned out to be very soft?
unfortunately, no.
Hi,
I would like to know how does wheat starch changes the texture of the radish cake? Does it make it bouncier? or softer? or less sticky and easier to cut?
http://www.adm.com/en-US/ADMMilling/Documents/WheatandStarchGlutenSellSheet.pdf
Hi I just wonder 1kg of radish is before shredded or after shredded?
before shredding
Hi Diana, it is that time of the year when I have to google your Radish Cake recipe again. Wanted to thank you for this wonderful recipes my friends and family love for the past 3 years. 😃 Love your book too!
This is such a lovely feedback!! Thank you so so much! Happy New Year to you and your family, Siew!