daikon cake

This is one of those foods that I would never have taken interest in, and thus never fully appreciated the greatness of it had I never eaten street food in Taiwan.  Honestly, giving something a name like 'radish cake' is not an enticement to get someone to try it, but it is the ultimate coolest thing that can be made from radishes (except for doozer sticks, or course).  Ming makes a pretty good version of daikon cake, and I asked her to show me how to make it after buying some daikon at the local farmers market... why?  To share it with the world.  (As a side, there was an interesting local thread on farmers markets in south Florida that rings a lot of truth... how does this measure up to other American cities?)

Daikon cake is typically eaten for breakfast although it may be enjoyed at any time of day.  In China, it is a great dim sum dish.  The cake is basically a daikon and rice flour batter (with some other flavor elements thrown in) which is steamed, allowed to set, then sliced up and cooked to crispiness on a flat griddle.

Here's the basic recipe... peel and grate a daikon until you have about 12 ounces.  Put this into a pot with 1 1/2 cups water, and cook on medium high heat until the daikon gets tender and mellows a little.  Add water to the mixture until you have 3 cups total.

In a sauté pan or wok, cook about 1 Tbsp of minced dried shrimp (which should be soaked for 45 minutes beforehand), 4 to 5 finely diced Chinese sausage links (Ming uses only WeiChuan or some other Taiwanese sausage... because Taiwanese is best, of course), and one fat green onion sliced finely.  Cook these ingredients in a Tbsp of peanut oil for about 10 minutes.

Add 1 3/4 cup non-glutinous rice flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp ground white pepper, 1/4 bunch cilantro (leaves only, sliced) and the cooked sausage, shrimp, green onion mix to the daikon and water and mix very well.  Ming also adds some fried shallots (which can be purchased in Asian markets) to the daikon mixture.  The mix will be the consistency of a light batter.  I may not look like it will set, but the result will be very tender, and a great contrast to the crispy outside when griddling it later.  Line bamboo steamer baskets with aluminum foil or heat-proof cellophane and ladle a bit of the mixture into the baskets.  Set a pot of water to boil and place the baskets over to steam for about 40 minutes.

The cakes are done when the starch is set.  Allow to cool for a bit, then slice into desired shapes.  These can be square patties to griddle for breakfast, or smaller bits fried up as snacks.  Ming eats these with Chinese sweet chile sauce (it's sort of a spicy ketchupy umami type bottled sauce found in Asian markets... almost like cocktail sauce without the horseradish).  Use the condiment of your choice and enjoy.  This is one of those foods that hits my soul deep, and I would love to introduce it to the masses one day... maybe a street cart on the beach or something... much later on in life.  Or maybe I'm just turning more sentimental as I get closer to the arrival date of my baby daughter.

Comments

[er]

thank you for posting this - when i was travelling in Japan I got obsessed with a very similar dish. I fully plan to make these this weekend. All I can say is thank you for always teaching and bringing up a dish I adore.

[Eat Me Outta Here]

My grandma makes this for the family during the Chinese holiday and it always reminds me of my childhood. I like mine fried to a crisp on the outside and soft on the inside drizzled with oyster sauce and sriracha.

[jbiesinger]

I've been enjoying your blog since I discovered it earlier this summer. I've never felt compelled to post until I saw the doozer stick link. Can I ask? How did you ever know that they were made out of radish?

Thanks for keeping up this great blog and thanks for letting me relive a little bit of my childhood.

[chadzilla]

Thanks for the comments, guys.
jbiesinger... how did I know about doozer sticks?
It's been common knowledge ever since the episode about the radish famine came to be.
Of course, fraggles have always eaten the doozer's constructions, but no one ever knew why. It wasn't until about the 3rd season that we found out the real radish truth behind their symbiotic relationship. Jim Henson was a genius.

[josh]

congrats chad...having a little one to poke around with in the kitchen will prove to be awesome, not to mention the things they have to say about life in general...

[Ouroboros]

I had an incredible(inedible) failure making daikon cake last February. It was very sticky and did not set at all.

Your pictures remind me of how delicious it is. I must attempt this again.

[Su-Lin]

If you leave out the extra bits, you've got a base for the delicious Singaporean hawker dish - chai tow kway! Love this stuff; I almost always order it when I'm having dim sum.

BTW, just discovered your blog and love it!