Turnip Cake

Chinese Sausage, Rice Flour, Dried Shrimp, Daikon Radish and Scallions

As a young child I remember my grandmother buzzing around the kitchen to make turnip cake. It seemed like a huge production as if she were making turnip cake for a whole village. Lately I find myself thinking about my family history and realizing how little I know about those that came before me. I am longing to learn about my grandparents and anything that will bridge me to my Taiwanese heritage. A part of me wonders if I will find a missing part of myself when I make a connection to the past. More importantly, I want to be able to tell my kids about their family history when they are old enough to ask. My turnip cake was nowhere near as good as my grandmother's but I think she would still be proud.

This was my first time making turnip cake. I expected it to be a daunting task, but it really was quite easy. If I could do it all over again, I would add more shredded turnip - the recipe called for 2 1/2 to 3 cups of shredded daikon and I went on the lower range. I wanted to taste more of the turnip. Being a saltaholic, I would add a touch more salt as well. Below is the recipe as is, feel free to incorporate the changes if you wish.

Shredded Daikon

Chopped Dried Shrimp, Scallions and Chinese Sausage

Ready to be steamed

Cooling the Turnip Cake

Pan-fry until golden brown

Serve with Oyster Sauce

Turnip Cake
Yield one 8x8 pan or one 9" cake pan

2 1/2 - 3 cups (lightly packed) Coarsely Shredded Daikon Radish
1 1/2 Cups Water
3 T Dried Shrimp, optional (soaked in hot water then drained)
1 Chinese Sausage, finely diced
2 Scallions, finely chopped
2 Cups Rice Flour (* Important note - use rice flour, do not use sweet/glutinous rice flour)
1 t salt (adjust up if not using shrimp)
1/2 t Sugar
Vegetable/Canola Oil for frying

1 - Place shredded radish in a small pot or saucepan with water. Bring mixture to a boil, than reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Remove radish from liquid(do not discard the cooking liquid) and place in measuring cup. Add in cooking liquid to bring the amount to approximately 3 cups. Let the mixture cool to a lukewarm temperature.

2 - While radish is cooking, heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a skillet or wok. When oil starts to smoke add the Chinese Sausage, scallions, and dried shrimp. Stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat. Place a double-boiler on the heat with plenty of water to get the steamer hot.

3 - In a bowl mix the rice flour, salt, and sugar. Add the radish and cooking water, and stir to a batter-like consistency. Add the Chinese sausage mixture to the batter and mix. Pour mixture into a 8x8 cake pan, or a 9-inch round cake pan.

4 - Place cake pan into steamer, and steam at a medium-high boil for 35-45 minutes.

5 - Once done, remove the turnip cake from the steamer and let cool. Slice the turnip cake and pan-fry in oil until golden brown.