Taiwanese Turnip Cake (Made With Basmati Rice)
Learn how to make Taiwanese turnip cake using basmati rice, which gives a fresh and pure rice fragrance that beats anything made with powder from a package!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 20 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 200 g basmati rice
- 200 g water
- 450 g daikon radish (weigh after peeling)
- 1.5 tbsp tapioca starch (or corn starch)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- ½ tbsp dried shrimp (minced)
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp white pepper powder
- 3 tbsp crispy fried shallot
- 1-2 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
- 1
Rinse basmati rice and drain very well with a strainer.
- 2
Soak the rice in water overnight in the fridge. The total weight of rice and water should be around 420-450g (see note).
- 3
Peel the radish (see note), cut off a small piece (around 60-70 gram) and grate the rest. You can also use a food processer with a shredding disc.
- 4
Cut the saved piece of radish into 4 portions and blend with rice and the soaking water until very smooth, about 60-90 seconds on high. A powerful blender like Vitamix or Blendtec is recommended for this recipe.
- 5
Add tapioca starch and blend for another 30 seconds on medium speed.
- 6
Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan with minced dried shrimp over medium heat until the oil is bubbling before adding grated daikon into the pan.
- 7
Stir and cook until the water comes out before adding salt, sugar, white pepper powder and crispy fried shallot. Stir until well combined. The radish mixture should be very watery at this point, but if it's not, add some water until the radish is mostly soaked in water.
- 8
Turn the heat down to low, cover, and let it cook for 5-7 minutes until the radish is cooked through and becomes translucent.
- 9
Stir the rice mixture before pouring into the pan. Stir and fold with a spatula until the batter sticks together and becomes one large lump.
- 10
Put the batter into a glass container (the one I use is 6.5"W x 4.5"L x 2.5"H) or any kind of heat resistant container that can fit into your steamer.
- 11
Cover the top with a piece of plastic wrap and press the batter down before smoothing out the surface.
- 12
Boil at least 10 cups of water in a pot that you are going to use for steaming the turnip cake (see note).
- 13
When the water is boiling, set your steamer over the pot and steam for 60 minutes over medium high heat.
- 14
After the turnip cake is done steaming, let it cool down completely before chilling in the fridge overnight. This allows it to firm up for easy slicing.
- 15
Heat a frying pan over medium heat with 3-4 tablespoon of cooking oil, when the oil is hot, place the sliced turnip cake in the pan and cook until both sides become golden brown.
- 16
Mix minced garlic, soy sauce, water and sugar together until well combined.