Cantonese turnip cake

Your ingredients

Get ready: Grater, sieve, frying pan, oiled 20 cm tin and a steamer large enough to hold it.

• 🦐2 tbsp dried shrimp
• 🍄3 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 🥣800 g daikon radish, peeled and grated
• 🥣1 tbsp neutral oil, plus more for tin and frying
• 🥬50 g shallot or onion, finely chopped
• 🥣2 Chinese sausages, finely diced
• 🥣1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 🥬¼ tsp white pepper
• 🍚160 g rice flour, not glutinous rice flour
• 🍚50 g cornflour
• 💧400 ml cooled radish-cooking liquid, topped up with water if necessary
• 🥜Spring onion, toasted sesame and soy sauce to serve, optional

Let’s make it

1. Soak and prepare

   Soak dried shrimp and mushrooms in 400 ml cold water in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Drain, reserving liquid and leaving any grit behind. Chop mushrooms and shrimp finely. Simmer grated daikon in that liquid for 5 minutes, then drain into a bowl and cool the liquid.

2. Build the savoury mixture

   Fry shallot in oil until golden. Add sausage, then shrimp and mushrooms and cook thoroughly. Stir in drained radish, oyster sauce and pepper. Measure exactly 400 ml cooled cooking liquid, topping up with water, and whisk in both flours.

3. Thicken and steam

   Add the flour mixture to the radish over low heat. Stir continuously until thick. Pack into an oiled 20 cm tin that fits your steamer and level. Steam for about 50 minutes, topping up the steamer with boiling water as needed, until set and steaming hot throughout.

4. Cool before slicing

   Remove carefully. Cool promptly, refrigerating within 2 hours, and chill until firm, about 2 hours. Unmould and cut into 1–1.5 cm slices.

5. Fry the edges

   Pan-fry slices in a little oil until golden on both sides and steaming hot in the middle. Add optional garnishes. The cooling stage makes neat slices possible, so do not rush it.