Stuffed Turnip Cake (Stuffed Lo Bak Go)

Stuffed Turnip Cake: a Twist on a Classic

Stuffed turnip cake is a classic dim sum dish. Traditionally it was made by frying dace and then mincing it. Then it was mixed with Chinese turnip syrup to replace the cured taste and enhance the flavor of the fish. For a home-cooked taste, the dace's bones would be fried and a fried fish broth would be used to replace the water in mixing the syrup, resulting in a richer, fresher flavor. Nowadays, cured meats and chicken bouillon are used to bring out the cake's taste, so it is no longer necessary to fry dace for a soup broth, thus saving time and energy. Using dace meat paste on top of the turnip cake retains the fish flavor and adds a crispy texture.

Chinese Stuffed Turnip Cake With Tangy Dipping Sauce — Chinese Stuffed Turnip Cake with Tangy Dipping Sauce

Servings : 1 pan

Total Time : 2.5 hours

Ingredients

1.32 pounds (600 grams) dace meat filling

Turnip Cake

6.61 pounds (3,000 grams) peeled Chinese turnips, thickly sliced
6 ⅓ cups (1,500 milliliters) water (for boiling turnips)
6 ⅓ cups (1,500 milliliters) water (for mixing flour)
1/3 cup (75 milliliters) peanut oil
5 cups (600 grams) glutinous rice flour
3 ¾ cups (450 grams) corn starch

Cured Meat

5.29 ounces (150 grams) sausage, diced
5.29 ounces (150 grams) cured meat, diced
4.05 ounces (115 grams) dried shiitake mushrooms, diced (wet weight)
4.05 ounces (115 grams) dried shelled shrimp, soaked until tender and diced

Marinade (for dace meat)

2 heaping teaspoons (10 grams) salt
2 teaspoons (8 grams) chicken bouillon
2 ½ tablespoons (38 milliliters) water (for mixing potato starch)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 scant tablespoon (11 grams) sugar
1 scant tablespoon (11 milliliters) sesame oil, added at the end
1/3 cup (75 milliliters) water
2 scant tablespoons (11 grams) potato starch

Seasoning (turnip cake)

2 teaspoons ground pepper
1/3 cup (75 grams) chicken bouillon
1/2 cup (115 milliliters) sesame oil
4.05 ounces (115 grams) sugar
2 tablespoons (38 grams) salt

Please see measurements in grams to be more exact for all ingredients and seasonings.

Cooking Directions

How to make stuffed turnip cake syrup

Boil Chinese turnips, oil, and water until the turnips are soft. Mix glutinous rice flour, corn starch, water, and turnip cake seasoning ingredients evenly into a syrup. Then, mix turnips and the water it was boiled in with the syrup. This is the stuffed turnip cake syrup.

How to make stuffed turnip cakes

Blanche all cured meat ingredients at the same time. Heat pot. In pot, heat up dried shelled shrimp until aromatic. Then add remaining ingredients and fry until aromatic. Add stuffed turnip cake syrup and stir evenly. Empty this into a steaming pan with a 9-inch (30-centimeter) diameter. Steam over high heat for 1 hour 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut into pieces.

How to make dace meat paste

Mix dace meat filling with salt and ground pepper until it achieves a paste-like consistency. Slowly add in water, continuing to stir between each pouring. Add sugar and chicken bouillon, and stir into a paste. Then, mix in the potato starch-water solution. Finally, add sesame oil and stir evenly.

Put it all together

Pat potato starch onto one side of stuffed turnip cake. Add a thin layer of dace paste from step 3. Press flat. Fry over medium heat in preheated frying pan until aromatic.