Turnip cake

What it is

Turnip cake (蘿蔔糕) is a steamed block of shredded white radish set in rice flour batter. The English name is a misnomer, as the vegetable is daikon radish, not turnip. In Taiwanese Hokkien it is chhài-thâu-ké (菜頭粿), and Hakka speakers call it 蘿蔔粄 or 菜頭粄. Taiwanese versions are firmer and plainer than the Cantonese dim sum kind.

Where it came from

Radish cakes are eaten across southern China, Taiwan and South-east Asia. In Taiwan, Hokkien and Hakka families steam them in the days before Lunar New Year's Eve, alongside sweet rice cake (甜粿) and prosperity cake (發粿). The name carries a pun. In Taiwanese, chhài-thâu (菜頭, radish) sounds close to 好彩頭, a good omen, so the cake is a wish for a good start to the year.

A folk legend links it to Zhu Shugui (朱術桂), an exiled Ming prince who left his farmland to local farmers. After the Qing took Taiwan in the 17th century, the story goes, those farmers and their descendants honoured him in secret with radish cakes until Qing rule ended in 1895.

Radish was once mainly a winter crop, so the cake was seasonal. New varieties and growing methods in the 20th century made it a year-round food.

How it is made

White radish is peeled and grated or shredded, then cooked first, sometimes stir-fried with salt and white pepper. It is mixed with a batter of long-grain rice flour (在來米粉) and water, poured into a lined tin and steamed until set. Some cooks still soak and grind the rice themselves. Dried shrimp is a common extra in Taiwan. Cantonese versions add other starches, plus Chinese sausage and mushrooms, for a softer, moister cake. Once cold, the block is sliced.

How to eat it

Breakfast shops sell it sliced and pan-fried until golden, sometimes coated in egg and fried again. At Lunar New Year it goes on the reunion table, and some families pack leftovers for relatives to take home. Keep bought cakes chilled, as freezing leaves them dry and hard.