Ma Tai Gow

Before you start

• Make the batter and steam the cake on Saturday.

  This is a mandatory two-day process; the freshly steamed cake will be impossibly soft and requires overnight retrogradation in the refrigerator before it can be sliced and seared.

• Synchronize the Sunday drop.

  Take the chilled cake out thirty minutes before eating, slice it into dominos, and drop them into the shimmering oil exactly five minutes before your steamer baskets of har gow finish cooking so everything hits the table hot and all at once.

Ingredients

• pure water chestnut flour125 g
• cold filtered water350 ml
• room temperature filtered water400 ml
• rock sugar110 g
• slab brown sugar40 g
• fresh water chestnuts150 g
• neutral oil1 tsp
• neutral oil1 tbsp

Method

1. 01

   Prepare the steamer and grease the pan.

   Lightly oil the interior of an 8x8-inch pan and set up a wok or steaming vessel with enough water to boil for 45 minutes over high heat.

2. 02

   Hydrate and sieve the raw slurry.

   In a large bowl, whisk the water chestnut flour with the cold filtered water until it resembles opaque milk, then pour it through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl to remove unrefined fibers.

3. 03

   Brew the boiling syrup.

   In a medium saucepan, simmer the room temperature filtered water with the rock sugar and slab brown sugar until completely dissolved, then add the chopped water chestnuts and boil for 2 to 3 minutes.

4. 04

   Execute the raw-cooked collision.

   Agitate the cold raw slurry to lift the settled starch off the bottom of the bowl, turn the boiling syrup to low heat, and aggressively whisk about 4 tablespoons of the cold slurry directly into the hot syrup until it forms a thick, clear gravy.

5. 05

   Temper the main batter.

   Turn off the heat entirely, then continuously whisk the remaining cold slurry while pouring the hot, thickened syrup mixture into it in a thin, steady stream to create a viscous, semi-translucent paste that suspends the water chestnuts.

6. 06

   Steam the cake.

   Pour the thickened batter into the greased pan, level it with a spatula, and steam covered over high heat for 30 to 35 minutes until the opaque surface turns dark, glossy, and translucent.

7. 07

   Cool and retrograde the starch overnight.

   Remove the cake from the steamer, let it cool at room temperature for two hours, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours—or ideally overnight—until the structure snaps into a rigid matrix.

8. 08

   Slice and pan-fry to order.

   Turn the firm block out onto a board, cut into domino-sized rectangles with an oiled knife, and sear in a lightly oiled non-stick skillet over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side until the interior re-gelatinizes into a meltingly soft jelly beneath a golden, crispy crust.

Notes

• Sourcing authentic starch.

  True pan-fried water chestnut cake demands 100 percent pure water chestnut flour, often boxed as Pan Tang or Double Ring brand; do not purchase flour cut with cassava or tapioca.

• The Western sugar substitution.

  If rock and slab sugar elude you, substitute 120 grams of turbinado sugar and 30 grams of light agave nectar to mimic the unrefined flavor and structural elasticity of traditional teahouse sugars.

• Preventing steamer condensation.

  If utilizing a metal tier steamer rather than bamboo, tightly wrap the lid in a clean kitchen towel to absorb condensation and prevent water from cratering the top of the cake.