Pan-fried daikon radish cake with Chinese sausage
Home-steamed turnip cake packed with daikon, Chinese sausage and shiitake, chilled until set, then pan-fried golden — the classic New Year dim sum.
- 1 hr 40 min
- Serves 4
- Steam and fry
- Medium
Why it suits you: Balanced types can simply follow the New Year rhythm at Minor Cold. A home-steamed turnip cake has more radish and less flour, with just enough sausage; pan-fried crisp outside and soft inside and served with hot tea, it is warming without being greasy.
Method
Prep 30 min · Cook 70 min- 1Soak the shiitake and dried shrimp until soft and dice them; finely dice the sausages. Peel the daikon and coarsely grate it.
- 2Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and fry the sausage, shiitake and shrimp until fragrant. Set aside.
- 3Add the daikon to the wok with a splash of water and cook for about 10 minutes until translucent and soft; keep its liquid.
- 4Whisk the rice flour with the water. Off the heat, pour it into the daikon with the salt, sugar, pepper and half the sausage mix, and stir quickly into a thick batter.
- 5Pour into an oiled cake tin, top with the rest of the sausage mix and steam over high heat for 50 minutes. Cool, then chill until firm.
- 6Cut into thick slices and pan-fry in a little oil over medium heat until golden on both sides. Eat straight away.
Cautions
- Chinese sausage is salty and fatty — go easy with high blood pressure or cholesterol, and fry with little oil.
Chef's tips
- Cook the daikon until translucent before adding the batter for a smooth cake, and let it cool completely before slicing so it holds together.
The TCM view
Daikon is pungent, sweet and cool, turning neutral when cooked, moving qi down, aiding digestion and resolving phlegm; rice is sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen and stomach; Chinese sausage is sweet, salty and warm, warming and supporting the body; shiitake is sweet and neutral, supporting qi. Balanced overall, it suits balanced types at Minor Cold.
