How to Cook Daikon Cakes
Yields: 8
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 1 ½ hours
Ingredients needed to make Daikon Cakes:
- 1 lb daikon, peeled and grated
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp green onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 1 red chili, thinly sliced
- 2 dried Chinese sausages, casings peeled off and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp small shrimp, dried
- 1 ½ cups rice flour
- ¼ cup garlic chili sauce
- 5 tbsp hoisin sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 ½ tbsp canola oil, plus extra from greasing
Cooking instructions for Daikon Cakes:
- Lightly oil an 8’’ square baking dish to grease and spread a parchment paper over its base; keep it aside.
- Place the shrimp in a bowl and pour in ½ cup hot water; set aside for half an hour to soak until they soften.
- Drain them out onto a chopping board and chop them into tiny bits; set aside.
- Toss the grated daikon into a 4-quart saucepan and pour in1/3 cup water.
- Cook the daikon over moderately low heat until it starts simmering.
- Continue to simmer for about half an hour or until the cooking liquid ebbs away and remove from heat.
- Drizzle ½ tbsp of oil in a large frying pan and heat it over moderately-high heat.
- Throw in the sausage chunks and stir fry for about 7 minutes or until they brown.
- Stir in the shrimps, ½ cup green onion as well as the shallots and cook for about 4 more minutes, or until they soften.
- Sprinkle 1 tsp of salt and sugar into it and stir them all together to mix well.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Pour 1 ½ cups water in another large skillet and bring it to a boil.
- Place a rice flour into a bowl and stir in a dash of salt as well as five spice powder until well combined.
- Empty a cup of water into the dry mixture, followed by the cooked daikon and stir them into a thick, smooth batter.
- Throw in the browned sausage into the mixture and fold it into the batter.
- Tip the mixture into the prepared pan and place it in a large bamboo steamer.
- Position the steamer onto the boiling water in the skillet, place the lid on and steam for about 40 minutes or until the mixture sets into a cake.
- Set aside for an hour to cool and remove the cake from the pan.
- Peel off the paper and wrap it up in a plastic sheet loosely to leave in the freezer for half an hour.
- To make the dipping sauce, whisk both the sauces and rest of the green onions in a small bowl until well combined.
- Divide the cake into 8 squares and set aside.
- Heat rest of the oil over moderately high heat in another clean skillet and throw in the cake, few at a time.
- Shallow fry for about 3-4 minutes, turning them over once, until they turn crispy golden brown.
- Drain them out into a serving plate and sprinkle the sliced chile on top.
- Serve warm alongside the spicy dipping sauce.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
