Chai Tow Guay or radish cake

I bought a daikon or radish on a whim. One thing led to another and before I know it, I was making radish cake. 

The outcome was pretty good, judging from the speed by which it was consumed. One of my friends even found out that the radish cake goes well with brie cheese. That option, dear readers, is only for the brave.

If you have these 2 main equipment, a food processor with grating option and an instant pot or rice cooker for steaming, you can be a kitchen diva without the sweat. Plus, the end result can be pretty decent and it may even earn you a fan base :) 

Recipe:

For 6 persons :

A:
250g rice flour

350 ml water

B:
1/3 C dried shrimps
1 medium radish, shredded  
1/2 C dried mushroom slivers, soaked, dried and chopped
1/2 C shallots
Chinese sausage , thinly sliced ( optional )

Prepping the star of the dish - radish :

Grate the radish to coarse bits. 

Salt (2 Tbsp fine salt ) the radish to leech the bitter water.

After 30 mins, squeeze dry the radish.

Set aside.

Note : this step is important to remove the astringent taste. The extra liquid from the radish if left unchecked also may upset the flour to water ratio.

Bringing all the ingredients together sans flour slurry:

Fry the shallots in hot oil. I find that bottled onions are just as good.

Add shrimps, sausages and radish. Fry at medium heat until fragrant and the radish is translucent. 

Add salt and pepper to taste. The radish was previously salted so go easy with the extra sodium chloride. Add MSG for a stronger taste.

Final assembly:

Combine rice flour and water. Add the slurry into the cooked radish mix.

Turn the heat back on to medium. Cook the mixture until it is thick but still pasty.

Transfer the half cooked slurry into an oiled bowl. 

Foil to cover. (I use an aluminum tray because it is actually non-stick)

Steam covered:

Prepare the instant pot with water, enough to steam for 40 minutes. A rice cooker does the job too.

The radish cake is ready when the surface is firm to touch.

Fried option:

After it is cooled completely, cut to thick pieces.

Fry in a non-stick pan. Oil is not optional.

I don't suggest air frying. It dries up the cake without creating a good crust.

Serving and storing:

Cool well before cutting. Cutting it while hot will not yield a clean cut because the structure is unstable.

Cool completely if you intend to fridge it. Otherwise it will grow mouldy from condensation.

And there you have it! The texture is firm and packed of real radish.