Turnip cake facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Turnip cake

Alternative names	Radish cake
Course	Dim sum
Place of origin	Southern China
Region or state	Chinese-speaking areas
Main ingredients	shredded radish (typically Chinese radish), plain rice flour
Variations	Fried and steamed

Turnip cake is a yummy Chinese dish often found in dim sum restaurants. It's also known as radish cake, which is a better name because it's actually made with shredded radish, not turnips! In Singapore, some people even call it carrot cake.

This special cake is a popular part of Cantonese yum cha, which is like a brunch with small dishes. It's usually cut into rectangle shapes. Sometimes, it's pan-fried to make it crispy on the outside and soft inside. If it's not fried, it's soft all over.

Turnip cake is a common dish in China and in Chinese restaurants around the world. People also love to eat it during Chinese New Year. This is because the word for radish in the Hokkien language sounds like "good fortune"! In Taiwan, turnip cake is often eaten for breakfast.

How Turnip Cake is Made

To make turnip cake, the first step is to shred Chinese radish. This radish, which can be white-and-green or all-white, is super important because it makes up most of the cake.

The other main ingredients are water and rice flour. Sometimes, a little corn starch is added. This helps hold the cake together, especially if lots of other tasty ingredients are mixed in. All these ingredients are stirred together until they are well combined.

Adding Extra Flavors

Chefs often add more ingredients to give the cake a savory, rich taste called umami. These can include small diced or minced pieces of:

• Dried shrimp
• Dried shiitake mushrooms
• Chinese sausage
• Jinhua ham

These flavor boosters might be stir-fried first before being mixed into the radish and flour batter. Some fancy turnip cakes have lots of these ingredients mixed throughout. Cheaper versions, like those in some dim sum places, might just have a few sprinkled on top to save money.

Steaming the Cake

After mixing everything, the batter is poured into a steamer. The steamer is usually lined with greased aluminum foil or cellophane to prevent sticking. The cake is then steamed over high heat for about 40 to 60 minutes. It becomes a soft, jelly-like block when it's ready.

If someone can't eat radishes, some recipes use taro or pumpkin instead. This creates different kinds of delicious cakes!

Ways to Enjoy Turnip Cake

You can eat steamed turnip cake plain with soy sauce. But most people like to cook it again to add more flavor. A common way is to slice the cooled cake into rectangular pieces. Then, you pan-fry them until both sides turn golden and crispy.

It's often served with chili sauce or hoisin sauce on the side for dipping.

Turnip cake can be made into chai tow kway, a stir-fried dish.

Turnip cake can also be stir-fried with other ingredients to make a dish called chai tow kway. This dish is very popular in some parts of Asia!

See also

In Spanish: Pastel de nabo para niños