Turnip cake, also known as Radish cake or Law Bok Gow, is a traditional Lunar New Year dish made with daikon. It is also often featured as a side dish in congee restaurants. Every year, we celebrate new year’s with both my family and The Hubby’s. My family is from mainland China, and his are from Hong Kong, so our traditions differ slightly. With both families though, the main celebration revolves around the New Year feast. The dining table is filled with home cooked dishes (whole fish, dumplings, wood ear fungus, to name a few) and the meal lasts hours. This year’s Lunar New Year is quickly approaching (Feb 8th!) and The Hubby and I decided to try making turnip cake ourselves. We tried both cutting the daikon by hand and using a grater, and found that grating created a smoother texture.
Step by Step Photos
Assemble ingredients, cut or grate daikon
Dice meats and shallots
Grate the daikon
In a hot pan with oil, saute the shallots, meats and season with cooking wine
Set aside cooked meats
Measure out rice flour and wheat starch
Combine rice flour, wheat starch and water to form a paste
In the wok, add daikon and enough water to just cover the daikon. Cook until the daikon is soft
Pour the paste mixture into the cooked daikon, stirring continuously to prevent lumps from forming
Add cooked meats to daikon
Pour the turnip cake batter into a greased cake pan and steam for one hour
Optional, pan-fry the cooked turnip cake to add a crispy crust
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