Lo Bak Go
蘿蔔糕·(lo-baak-gou)
Chapter 3: The Pan-Fried, Deep-Fried & Crispy
A proper turnip cake demands to be cooked twice. Before reaching a hot cast-iron skillet, an impossibly soft matrix of shredded daikon, diced lup cheong, and tapioca starch sets inside a bamboo steamer, entirely unlike the dense, gummy puck you find idling in suburban buffet trays. You build it on a Saturday, honoring the gelatinization of the raw-cooked batter technique, so come Sunday morning, you're just slicing, frying, and pouring the tea.
Before you start
Extract the essence of the dried seafood.
Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over the dried shrimp and scallops. Let steep for at least 30 minutes until plump, then squeeze dry. Reserve the murky, amber liquid—this is liquid gold that will flavor the entire batter.
Measure the master hydration.
Strain the reserved seafood soaking liquid into a measuring cup and add enough fresh water or chicken stock to equal exactly 500ml.
Ingredients
- daikon radish1000 g
- long-grain rice flour200 g
- wheat starch50 g
- cornstarch or water chestnut flour30 g
- Chinese sausage100 g
- Chinese cured pork belly50 g
- dried shrimp30 g
- dried scallops20 g
- shallots2 med
- kosher salt1 1/2 tsp
- sugar2 tsp
- white pepper1/2 tsp
- oyster sauce1 tbsp
- sesame oil1 tbsp
- neutral oil2 tbsp
Method
- 01
Whisk the starch slurry to a smooth, heavy cream.
In a large bowl, combine the rice flour, wheat starch, and cornstarch. Pour in exactly 250ml of the master hydration liquid, whisking until perfectly smooth, then stir in the salt, sugar, white pepper, and oyster sauce.
- 02
Render the cured meats and aromatics.
Heat a wok over medium with a tablespoon of neutral oil, adding the diced sausage and pork belly to render their fat. Add the minced shallots, shrimp, and scallops, sautéing until fiercely aromatic, then remove them to a bowl while leaving the rendered orange fat in the wok. Reserve two tablespoons of this mixture to top the cake.
- 03
Braise the radish to draw out its juices.
Drop the grated and matchstick radish into the hot, fat-coated wok. Pour in the remaining 250ml of master hydration liquid, cover, and simmer over medium-low for 10 to 12 minutes until slightly translucent and fork-tender.
- 04
Execute the Sheng Shu Jiang gelatinization technique.
Return the cooked meats to the wok with the simmering radish and turn the heat off completely. Give the cold starch slurry a vigorous whisk, pour it directly into the hot wok, and immediately stir with a heavy wooden spoon for 60 seconds until the mixture seizes into a thick, cohesive paste, folding in the sesame oil at the end.
- 05
Steam the cake to set the remaining starches.
Scrape the heavy paste into a greased 8-inch round cake pan, smoothing the top with a wet spatula and pressing the reserved two tablespoons of meat mixture evenly across the surface. Steam over fiercely boiling water for 45 to 60 minutes until a skewer emerges with a sticky, translucent crumb.
- 06
Chill the cake overnight to stabilize its structure.
Remove the warm, highly volatile cake from the steamer and cool it to room temperature. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours so the starches retrograde, making it dense enough to slice cleanly.
- 07
Pan-fry the slices to a deep golden crust.
Dip a chef's knife in warm water to cleanly cut half-inch thick rectangles. Pan-fry in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side without disturbing them, achieving an aggressive crust that yields to a molten, fragrant interior.
Notes
Radish water content varies drastically by season.
If your winter radish yields an immense amount of liquid during braising, reduce it slightly before adding the slurry. If using a dry summer radish, you may need a splash of extra chicken stock to make up the moisture.
Time the dim sum brunch to hit the table at once.
Build and chill the radish cake entirely on Saturday. On Sunday, stand at the stove pan-frying the cake slices while your bamboo steamers work on the delicate dumplings.
From Cook Dim Sum at Home.