← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, finely diced (keep the water)
• 2 tbsp Dried shrimp, soaked and chopped
• 2 Chinese sausages (lap cheong), finely diced
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 900 g Daikon radish, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• ½ tsp White pepper
• 160 g rice flour (not glutinous)
• 180 ml mushroom soaking water or water
• 1 Spring onion, sliced, to garnish
• 2 tbsp oil, for pan-frying

Method

1. Fry the sausage, mushrooms and dried shrimp in 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium heat for 3 min, until fragrant and the sausage fat runs. Scoop out half for the topping.
2. Add the grated radish with its juices to the wok with the salt, sugar and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 8–10 min, until the radish is soft and translucent.
3. Whisk the rice flour with the mushroom water until smooth. Take the wok off the heat and stir the batter into the radish until it forms a thick, sticky paste.
4. Spoon into an oiled 20 cm square or round tin, smooth the top and scatter over the reserved sausage mixture, pressing it in lightly.
5. Steam over high heat for 50–60 min, topping up the water, until a chopstick pushed into the centre comes out almost clean. Cool, then chill for at least 3 hours or overnight so it firms up.
6. Cut into 1.5 cm slices and pan-fry in hot oil over medium-high heat for 3–4 min per side, until golden and crisp. Scatter with spring onion and serve with chilli sauce or soy.

Tips

• Chinese radish is the daikon-type white radish; "turnip" is a traditional mistranslation.
• Contains shellfish from the dried shrimp; lap cheong usually contains soy and sometimes wheat, so check labels if needed.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Taste of Asian Food Christine's Recipes