Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)

5 from 2 votes

Turnip cake is made with radish and taro filled with Chinese cured meats. The texture is soft and crispy when pan-fried!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: people

Calories: 434kcal

Author: Dana

Hydrate the dried shrimp in boiling water. Peel radish and shred. Next, peel taro (I buy mine peeled!) and cut in ¼ 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 by mixing 1 & ¾ cup water, 1 & ¾ cup of turnip cake flour and ¼ 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

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 & ½ 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 ¼ 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.

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