lo bak go (萝卜糕 or turnip cake)

Lo bak go (萝卜糕) is a traditional dim sum dish. Unlike your typical "cake," lo bak go is filled with savory ingredients and held together with a batter made of rice flour.

---

Ingredients

• 1 daikon radish (~2 lbs), one half finely diced and one half grated

• 1 cup water

• avocado oil

• 4 Chinese sausages, diced

• 1/4 cup dried shrimp (soaked, rinsed, and drained), minced

• 4-5 fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced

• 4 scallions, sliced (greens and whites separated)

• 1 1/2 cup rice flour

• 1 tsp cornstarch

• 1 tbsp white pepper powder

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• 1/2 tsp salt

• Optional toppings: oyster sauce, soy sauce, chili oil, chili crisp, hot sauce

---

Directions

1. In a medium pot or large skillet, combine daikon radish and 1 cup water. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Once daikon radish completely softens, use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove it and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of the liquid remaining in the pot/skillet and set aside.

2. Heat and oil the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add in sausages, shrimp, mushrooms, and whites of scallions. Saute for 5 minutes, remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine rice flour, cornstarch, white pepper, black pepper, and salt. Once sausage mixture has cooled a bit, add it to the flour mixture, along with the daikon radish, reserved liquid, and green parts of scallions. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.

4. Oil steaming pan and set up your steamer. Stir the batter once more before ladling it into the pan. Fill the pan until there is about 1/4 inch of space from the top of the pan. Carefully place pan into the steamer and steam on medium-high heat for 45-55 minutes depending on how the thickness of the pan you use.

5. Carefully remove the pan from the steamer and set aside for at least 30 minutes. Do not attempt to dislodge the cake before letting it set because it will be too soft to handle. After it has set, use a silicon spatula to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and transfer it onto a cutting board. Cut the cake into 3” x 2” portions.

6. Heat and liberally oil a skillet over medium-high heat. Gently place each slice of turnip cake into the skillet and let it sear until golden brown. Flip and let sear on the other side. Remove from heat and serve with condiments of your choice. I like to use oyster sauce and/or chili sauce.