Chinese turnip cake [lo bak go]

Step 1

Firstly, whisk together the rice flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper with the water in a bowl until all well combined.

Step 2

Then chop the spring onions, Chinese sausage and mushrooms. You're looking to chop them into small diced pieces.

Step 3

Peel off the lo bak's skin, cut into large pieces, then grate. Or if using a food processor, finely chop the lo bak on a medium setting for 30-40 seconds.

Step 4

Heat a large non-stick pan with a tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, the Chinese sausage and the spring onions. Sauté them for 2-3 minutes. Then add the shredded lo bak and continue to cook until it turns translucent and all water has evaporated. Season with a pinch more salt and pepper and add the sugar. Give it a good stir.

Step 5

Turn the heat low, give the rice flour batter a mix and add to the lo bak.

Step 6

Then continue to cook, while stirring constantly. You'll soon see the mixture thickening and it will look like paste-like.

Step 7

Transfer the mixture into a lightly greased non-stick loaf tin. Using the back of a spoon, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the pan Then, cover it with foil.

Step 8

Steam the turnip cake over high heat for about 40 minutes. You can use a bamboo steamer or a wok with a lid. Make sure there is enough water in the pan while it is steaming, and top up with more water if necessary.

Step 9

Once the cake has cooked, carefully remove from the steamer and let the cake cool down completely, before refrigerating for at least 3-4 hours, preferably overnight.

Step 10

You can eat it like this, freshly steamed - some people prefer it soft, but personally, it's so much tastier pan fried.

Step 11

Run a knife around the edges of the turnip cake. It will be well set now and should easily come out of the loaf tin when turned upside down.

Step 12

Using a sharp knife, cut the cake into 1-2 cm thick slices.

Step 13

Heat a large non-stick frying pan with around 2-3 tablespoons of oil.

Step 14

Carefully add the turnip cake slices into the hot oil. You may need to do these in several batches. Pan-fry until golden brown before flipping, around 3 minutes each side. Repeat until you get the crispiness and colour at you like.

Step 15

Serve immediately with chilli sauce and soy sauce.