Turnip Cake (Chinese Lo Bak Go)
Turnip cake is a traditional Chinese snack served at dim sum. Our family lo bak go recipe is packed with flavor from Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, mushrooms and more.
Servings: 6
Calories: 206kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola or avocado oil; plus more for brushing & pan-frying)
- 1 tablespoon dried shrimp (washed, soaked and chopped)
- 3-5 dried shiitake mushrooms (washed, soaked, and chopped)
- 1 Chinese sausage (diced)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
- 20 ounces daikon radish (grated)
- 1 to 2 cups water
- 1 1/4 cups rice flour (regular rice flour—not glutinous rice flour or brown rice flour)
- 1-3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- Oyster sauce (for dipping, optional)
Instructions
- Place your wok over medium heat. Add the oil, shrimp, mushrooms, and sausage, and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped scallion, and remove from the wok.
- Add the grated radish/turnip and 1 cup water to the wok. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so it does not brown. It will produce liquid, some of which will evaporate. You should have about 1 cup of liquid left in the wok with the radish.
- In a bowl, combine the rice flour and cornstarch with 1/2 cup of water. For a moister cake, add an additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, for up to 1 cup total, depending on how moist/tender you like your lo bak go. If adding more than 1/2 cup of total water, add 1 additional tablespoon of cornstarch for every 1/4 cup additional water. (So it would be 1 tablespoon cornstarch if you added 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons for 3/4 cup water, or 3 tablespoons for 1 cup water). Cornstarch helps to bind the radish cake, counterbalancing any additional water you add to make a moister cake. Add this mixture to the radish in the wok.
- Also add the salt, sugar, white pepper, along with the cooked shrimp, mushrooms and sausage mixture, using a rubber spatula to scrape any remaining oil into the batter. Mix well. If you feel the batter is too thin at this point, turn the heat on low to thicken the batter, stirring constantly. It should resemble thick pancake batter.
- Brush a 9x5-inch loaf pan or 8-inch round pan liberally with oil. Transfer the batter to the pan and spread it evenly. Place the pan into a steamer with plenty of water and steam over medium-high heat—50 minutes for a loaf pan or 40 minutes for the round pan. Poke the cake with a chopstick; if it comes out clean, the lo bak go is done.
- Remove the pan from the steamer and let your turnip cake cool and set for 30 minutes Once cooled, loosen the sides with a spatula and turn it out onto a cutting board. It should come out easily. (Covering and chilling the cake in the refrigerator will make turning the cake out and slicing even easier.)
- Use a sharp knife dipped in water to slice ½-inch/1cm thick pieces. I know people who’d enjoy it just like that, but most people pan-fry the turnip cake first. Add a couple tablespoons oil to a non-stick or seasoned cast iron pan over medium heat. Fry the cakes on both sides until golden and crispy. Serve with oyster sauce!
Video
Notes
- You can make this turnip cake in advance, refrigerate it in the loaf pan for up to 3 days, and slice/fry later. You can also freeze the cooled cake in a freezer bag, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and pan-frying.
- If you’ve refrigerated turnip cakes that you’ve already fried, the best way to reheat them is to re-fry them in a pan.
Nutrition
Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 240mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 0.8mg