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Chinese Turnip Cake - Bánh Củ Cải Chiên
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Rice Flour
- 1/3 Cup Corn Starch
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon White Pepper
- 4 Cups COLD Water
- 1 Daikon Radish ( 1 Pound- Grated )
For frying the radish cake:
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1/3 Cup Chopped Green Onions
- 3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil for Frying Daikon Cakes
For steaming the radish cake:
- 1/2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil to Coat Glass Baking Dish
Serve on the side ( optional ) :
- Vietnamese Pickled Daikon & Carrots
To make the Sweet Soy Sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons Kikkoman Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Water
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Rice Vinegar
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Fresh Chili Paste
Equipment needed:
- 21x21x5cm Glass Baking Dish
- Steamer Or A Large Saute Pan With A Steam Rack
Instructions
- Make the Sweet Soy Sauce dip.
- In a small bowl combine the Kikkoman Low Sodium Soy Sauce, water, sugar, rice vinegar and ground fresh chili paste.
- Stir to combine and set aside.
- Wash the daikon radish.
- Peel the daikon radish.
- Grate the daikon radish.
- In a large saute pan pour in the rice flour.
- Then add in the corn starch.
- Add in the salt.
- Add in the white pepper.
- And stir to combine the ingredients.
- Pour in the cold water.
- Whisk until the flour is dissolved and smooth.
- Add the grated daikon to the flour mixture .
- And give it a quick stir.
- Place the saute pan on the stove and turn the heat on to medium.
- Continuosly whisk the flour mixture for about 5-7 minutes or until it starts to thicken on the bottom of the pan.
- Once it starts to feel thick on the bottom of the pan immediately reduce the heat to Low and continuosly whisk the flour mixture until it has turned into a paste.
- Coat the bottom and the sides of the glass baking dish with 1/2 a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
- Pour the flour mixture into the baking dish and use a spoon to level it out. Then set is aside.
- Place the steam rack in the middle of the saute pan and fill it with water . The water level should be just below the steam rack.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Then carefully place the baking dish on the steam rack and reduce the heat to medium.
- Cover and steam for 40 minutes.
- Remove the radish cake from the pan and place it on the counter for 2 hours or until completely cooled.
- Cut the radish cake.
- Cut the radish cake into 1/2 inch thick rectangular slices. Separate the radish cake slices into 3 separate batches. Then set aside.
- Chop the green onions.
- Cook the first batch of radish cakes. In a frying pan on medium heat add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
- Once the oil is hot add in the radish cake slices and fry until golden brown.
- Flip the radish cake slices over and fry the other side until golden brown as well.
- Reduce the heat to Medium-Low and crack 4 eggs into the pan. Break the yolks and evenly spread the eggs over the radish cake slices .
- Toss on some chopped green onions. Cook the eggs for about 2 minutes or until it has set.
- Once the eggs have set on the bottom flip the radish cakes over and cook for another minute. Avoid overcooking the eggs.
- Then plate the radish cake. When removing the radish cake from the pan be sure to flip the radish cakes over onto the plate with the green onions facing up.
- Serve with the Sweet Soy Sauce in this recipe.
Notes
Another way to cook the radish cake so that it looks like the picture on the left is to remove the fried radish cakes from the pan once it has browned on both sides. In the same pan on Medium-Low heat crack 3 to 4 eggs into the pan and lightly beat them. Then place the fried radish cakes on top of the egg omelette. Toss on some chopped green onions. Once the eggs have set then flip the radish cakes over and cook for 30 seconds to a minute. Plate the radish cakes. When removing the radish cakes from the pan be sure to flip the radish cakes over onto the plate with the green onions facing up. If you would like you can also trim the omelettes around the edges of each radish cakes just to make it look nicer . If you wish for the radish cakes to be completely covered with eggs then this is the cooking method to follow. So you can either add the eggs to the pan before or after adding in the radish cake slices.
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You can make another version of this turnip cake by simply adding a few more ingredients. In the photo below, I have added some dried shrimp, shitake mushrooms and raw peanuts. 
You will need: 1 Cup Raw Peanuts (Skin On or Removed ), 7 Medium Shitake Mushrooms, 1/2 Cup Dried Shrimp
Place the raw peanuts in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer for 45 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. You can leave the skin on or peel them if you prefer to do so. I just leave them on. Then set them aside.
Next place the dried shrimp in a bowl and cover with hot water from the tea kettle. It does not need to be boiling water. Soak the dried shrimp for 15 minutes. Drain and cut each piece in half or leave whole. Then set aside.
Lastly place the shitake mushrooms in a bowl and cover with hot water from the tea kettle. It does not need to be boiling water. Soak the mushrooms for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Squeeze the excess water from the mushrooms. Chop into smaller pieces. Then set aside.
Follow the steps as in the original recipe and when it comes to the part where you add the shredded daikon radish to the pan, also add in the boiled peanuts, dried shrimp and chopped shitake mushrooms. Cook and steam the turnip cake as instructed in the original recipe. Because of the extra ingredients, you may need to steam the turnip cake for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to completely cool for at least 2 hours before pan frying.
Below is the brand of Rice Flour used in this recipe.
