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Cook With Dana

Turnip Cake (Loh Bak Go)

January 20, 2023

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turnip cake with green onions and XO sauce chinese cake

Turnip Cake aka Loh Bak Go is a Southern Chinese (Cantonese) dish that is eaten at dim sum restaurants and traditionally on Chinese New Year. The ‘cake’ is filled with chinese sausage, dried shrimp, cured pork belly, radish and taro. The cake is firm and usually steamed or pan-fried for extra crispiness. The taste is sweet from the radish and savory from the cured meats!

This dish is a labor of love and takes a few days to complete. However, this dish tastes better than the one you can get at the restaurant! Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR TURNIP CAKE:

Saute:

  • 2lbs of chinese radish – skin peeled then shred
  • 1/2 lb of Taro – skin peeled then cut in small pieces
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola or avocado oil)
  • 2 chinese sausage (1/4 pound) – cut in small pieces
  • 1/2 pound chinese cured pork belly – cut in small pieces
  • 1/4 cup dried shrimp (optional) – hydrated then cut in small pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups of water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Make Flour Paste:

  • 1 3/4 cup water
  • 1 3/4 cup of Turnip Cake Powder
  • 1/4 cup Rice Flour

Dipping Sauce:

  • XO sauce (optional)
  • chili oil

Turnip Cake Powder

bag of turnip cake powder

You will need this Turnip Cake Powder to thicken your radish and sauteed ingredients. I find that this is easier than making your own at home. The turnip cake powder is a mixture of rice flour, corn starch, potato starch, and wheat starch and will give your turnip cake great texture!

turnip cake with green onions and XO sauce chinese cake

STEPS TO MAKE THE TURNIP CAKE:

dried shrimp pork belly chinese sausage
cut all ingredients and set aside

Prepare and cut your ingredients:

  • Step 1. Hydrate the dried shrimp in boiling water. Peel radish and shred. Next, peel taro (I buy mine peeled!) and cut in 1/4 inch small pieces. Cut Chinese sausage (wash this before cutting!) and pork belly in small pieces. Pour out shrimp water and chop up shrimp in very small pieces. Set everything aside.
flour paste
make flour paste

Make Flour Paste:

  • Step 2. Make flour paste by mixing 1 & 3/4 cup water, 1 & 3/4 cup of turnip cake flour and 1/4 cup rice flour. Mix well until no flour is stuck to the bowl. Set aside.
stir fried dried shrimp pork belly chinese sausage
saute meats for 4-5 minutes

Saute meats:

  • Step 3. Heat large pan (if you use a pot, the amount of water may need to be adjusted because a pan will evaporate more water) on medium heat. When pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil. Cook chinese sausage, dried shrimp, and cured pork belly for 4-5 minutes. Set aside and take out meats on a separate plate.
  • Step 4. Pour out oil in a bowl and wipe the pan with a paper towel. Use the same pan to cook the radish to get some of the meat flavor.
dried shrimp pork belly chinese sausage seasoning
cook radish, taro, and meats. add seasoning.

Saute radish and taro:

  • Step 4. Heat pan on medium heat and add shredded chinese radish and taro. Add 1 & 1/2 cups of water. Cook for 2 minutes and add sauteed meats (chinese sausage, pork belly and shrimp).
  • Step 5. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper to the pan. Mix everything together and cook for 3 minutes. The water should be evaporated.
dried shrimp pork belly chinese sausage flour paste
add flour paste to pan mixture.

Add flour paste to saute pan:

  • Step 6. Stir the flour paste again because the flour may have sunk to the bottom. Add flour paste from step 2 to the saute pan. Mix everything together until it looks like a paste texture.
steam turnip cake in pot
put mixture in cake pan and steam! this is what it looks like after 1 hour of steaming.

Steam:

  • Step 7. Add mixture into a 8 x 8 cake pan or 12 x 12 works too (Make sure you have a pot that fits the cake pan). Prepare large pot to steam. Add water and steam rack to pot. Heat pot to medium-high heat. Add cake pan mixture in the pot when the water is boiling. Steam for 1 hour.
pan fry turnip cake
after refrigerating overnight, pan fry the turnip cake!

Cool Down

  • Step 8. After steaming, cool down turnip cake in room temperature. After it is cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  • Step 9. Take the turnip cake out of the fridge and gently take out of cake pan. Gently slice (use sawing motion as chopping will smush the cake) in 3 x 4 inch rectangles. You can steam them or pan fry! Enjoy with XO sauce on top!
    • Steam Method: Prepare large pot to steam. Add water and steam rack to pot. Heat pot to medium-high heat. Steam for 5-7 minutes until turnip cake is hot!
    • Pan-Fry Method: Heat pan on medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Once pan is hot, gently add turnip cake on the pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
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Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)

Turnip cake is made with radish and taro filled with Chinese cured meats. The texture is soft and crispy when pan-fried!
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time1 hr 15 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: chinese pork belly, chinese sausage, radish, turnip cake
Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

Saute

  • 2 pounds Chinese Radish skin peeled, then shredded
  • ½ pound Taro skin peeled, then cut in small pieces
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil canola or avocado
  • 2 chinese sausage (¼ pound) cut in small pieces
  • ½ pound chinese cured pork belly cut in small pieces
  • ¼ cup dried shrimp (optional) hydrated then cut in small pieces
  • 1½ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper

Make Flour Paste

  • 1¾ cup water
  • 1¾ cup turnip cake powder
  • ¼ cup rice flour

Dipping Sauce

  • XO sauce optional
  • chili oil optional

Instructions

prepare ingredients

  • Hydrate the dried shrimp in boiling water. Peel radish and shred. Next, peel taro (I buy mine peeled!) and cut in 1/4 inch small pieces. Cut Chinese sausage (wash this before cutting!) and pork belly in small pieces. Pour out shrimp water and chop up shrimp in very small pieces. Set everything aside.
    2 pounds Chinese Radish, ½ pound Taro, 2 chinese sausage (¼ pound), ½ pound chinese cured pork belly, ¼ cup dried shrimp (optional)

make flour paste

  • Make flour paste by mixing 1 & 3/4 cup water, 1 & 3/4 cup of turnip cake flour and 1/4 cup rice flour. Mix well until no flour is stuck to the bowl. Set aside.
    1¾ cup water, 1¾ cup turnip cake powder, ¼ cup rice flour

saute

  • Heat large pan (if you use a pot, the amount of water may need to be adjusted because a pan will evaporate more water) on medium heat. When pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil. Cook chinese sausage, dried shrimp, and cured pork belly for 4-5 minutes. Set aside and take out meats on a separate plate.
    1 tablespoon neutral oil, 2 chinese sausage (¼ pound), ¼ cup dried shrimp (optional), ½ pound chinese cured pork belly
  • Pour out oil in a bowl and wipe the pan with a paper towel. Use the same pan to cook the radish to get some of the meat flavor.
  • Heat pan on medium heat and add shredded chinese radish and taro. Add 1 & 1/2 cups of water. Cook for 2 minutes and add sauteed meats (chinese sausage, pork belly and shrimp).
    2 pounds Chinese Radish, ½ pound Taro, 1½ cup water
  • Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper to the pan. Mix everything together and cook for 3 minutes. The water should be evaporated.
    1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, ¼ teaspoon white pepper
  • Stir the flour paste again because the flour may have sunk to the bottom. Add flour paste from step 2 to the saute pan. Mix everything together until it looks like a paste texture.

steam

  • Add mixture into a 8 x 8 cake pan or 12 x 12 works too (Make sure you have a pot that fits the cake pan). Prepare large pot to steam. Add water and steam rack to pot. Heat pot to medium-high heat. Add cake pan mixture in the pot when the water is boiling. Steam for 1 hour.
  • After steaming, cool down turnip cake in room temperature. After it is cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  • Take the turnip cake out of the fridge and gently take out of cake pan. Gently slice (use sawing motion as chopping will smush the cake) in 3 x 4 inch rectangles. You can steam them or pan fry! Enjoy with XO sauce on top!
    – Steam Method: Prepare large pot to steam. Add water and steam rack to pot. Heat pot to medium-high heat. Steam for 5-7 minutes until turnip cake is hot!
    – Pan-Fry Method: Heat pan on medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Once pan is hot, gently add turnip cake on the pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
    XO sauce, chili oil

Did you make this recipe? 💖

Please give it a 5-star rating or leave a comment below to share your experience! Tag @cookwithdanaa on instagram to show me your beautiful creations😊


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in Main Dishes, Recipes # chinese food, dim sum, turnip cake

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