Steamed Turnip Pudding 蒸 蘿 蔔 糕

Turnip pudding is a classic savoury cake served in dim sum restaurants and especially during the Chinese New Year period as a symbol of prosperity. They are made with daikon which is a type of radish, long in length, can grow between 6 to 20 inches, chalk-white in colour and have long roots.

Daikon is extremely low in calories. A 3 ounce serving contains only 18 calories! They are also rich in vitamin C, and contain active enzymes that aid digestion.

Picking your daikon:- Look for the long, chalk-white colour daikon resembling a normal carrot but super-sized. Look for one that is free of cracks, firm with green leaves at the top.

These turnip puddings are so versatile as you can add in any cooked and diced ingredients of your choice. They are soft, light and delicious. The down side is that it is time-consuming and a bit demanding and definitely requires a lot of work. Hence I always make 2 loaf tins worth, slice and freeze them. Re-steam over a high heat for 10 minutes and fry on both sides till golden brown. This way you can have some turnip pudding as often and whenever you like.

Make: 2 Loaf Tins
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients
2000 grams Chinese turnip
400 grams rice flour
1¼ litres water
300 ml water for daikon
2 tablespoons corn flour
50 grams dried shrimps
10 Chinese mushrooms
3 Chinese sausages
3 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying

Seasonings
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon chicken powder
½ teaspoon pepper

Optional Extras
Sprinkle of white sesame seeds, chopped spring onions, chopped coriander, chili sauce or Hoisin sauce.

Method
• Soak Chinese mushrooms in hot boiling water for 20 minutes, cut into small cubes. Soak dry shrimps in hot water for 10 minutes and cut into small cubes.

• Add a cup (250 ml) of water into a pot, lid on, boil the sausages on a medium heat for 8 minutes. Remove from pot, cut into small dices. Put all the dice items into a bowl.

• Peel the skin off the turnip, grate into fine shreds and place into a separate bowl.

• In a mixing bowl, add in all the seasonings, sieve rice flour, corn starch followed by 1 ¼ litre of water. Kneel with hands to form a smooth batter.

• In a hot pan, add vegetable oil, diced ingredients. Fry on a medium heat for 5 minutes, keep stirring to prevent burning the ingredients. Remove ingredients into a bowl.

• With the same pan, add the shredded turnips and stir fry on medium heat for 1 minutes. Add in 280 ml of water. Boil on a medium heat for 5 minutes.

• Pour the turnip contents into the batter mixture. Add in diced ingredients, mix well.

• Brush a little oil along the sides of the baking tins, pour in the batter mixture. Steam over high heat for 1 hour. Remove and cool, cut the loaf into 2 cm thick slices. Fry both sides in oil until it turns golden brown and slightly crispy.

• Garnish with optional extras and serve.

©WinsesWeeWok2013