A classic Chinese dim sum dish, Law Bok Gow, often served at New Years.  This is a vegan variant, most traditional recipes call for Chinese sausage and bacon (see for example ApptetiteForChina).  The 6:1 ratio of daikon to rice flour is important in obtaining the correct final texture.

Ingredients

2 oz shitake mushroom
2 oz dry shrimp
2.2 lbs daikon (1 kg)
2 cups rice flour (about 170 grams)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp canola oil
2 tsp salt

Preparation

1. Boil some water.  Place the dry shrimp and dry mushrooms in separate small bowls and pour the boiling water over them.  Allow to hydrate for 20 minutes.
2. Peel and grate the daikon.  Using an electric food processor saves a lot of time.  Cover with water in a large pot and boil about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. While the daikon is cooking, mince the dried shrimp and mushroom.  Combine with the rice flour and vegetable broth to form a batter.
4. Drain the cooked daikon and return to the pot.  Pour the batter over the daikon and stir to mix well.
5. Oil a 10″ diameter deep circular pan.  Pour the combined mix into the pan and steam for 1 hour.  The cooked turnip cake can be refrigerated and stored for a week.
6. To serve, cut slices approximately 1 cm think and brown them on both sides in a nonstick skillet.  If the nonstick surface is good quality, you really don’t need to add any oil at all, but you can use a teaspoon of oil to taste.  Serve with soy sauce.

Nutrition

20 servings