Lo Bak Gou or Daikon Cake (Vegan & Gluten Free)

See the recipe

If you’ve never had Lo Bak Gou before, you are missing out! It’s a delicious dish that can be eaten steamed or, as we prefer, stir fried. You can find it in most Chinese restaurants in the Dim Sum section of the menu and is often made around Chinese holidays, as a symbol of prosperity and new beginnings in Chinese tradition.

Traditionally this radish cake is made from Chinese turnip or daikon (also known as mooli), rice flour, and water and then steamed. Once cool it can be cut into slices and pan fried until golden brown and crispy. The interior of the cake remains soft while the edges crisp up to give a great texture contrast.

The most basic version of this recipe is naturally vegan and gluten free but the most popular adaptations use dried shrimps and Chinese sausage. I wanted to make my own version that was just as tasty but still vegan. I added more flavour and colour by adding a mix of carrots and parsnips. Swapped the sausage for dried shitake mushrooms, and used vegan fish sauce instead of shrimps.

If you haven’t tried this dish yet, I highly recommend you give it a go. It’s a bit time consuming to make but it’s worth it because the texture and flavour are so different from any other dish.

Ingredients

650g Daikon or Chinese Turnip
200g Parsnip
150g Carrot
3 Dried Shitake Mushrooms, soaked overnight
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Vegan Fish Sauce
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground White Pepper
1/2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 tsp Vegetable Stock powder

For the Batter:

For the Stir Fry:

Directions

Lets start with a few easy preparations so when you start cooking, everything is ready to go. Grease a 7 inch square loose based, cake tin and line the base with grease proof paper. Whisk together the batter and set to one side. Finally, prepare the vegetables – grate the daikon, parsnip and carrot together. Finely dice both the garlic and mushrooms.

Place a wok on a high heat with a touch of oil. When the oil comes up to heat and starts to shimmer, stir fry the garlic and mushroom together until the garlic just starts to brown. Add the grated vegetables and season with the fish sauce, sesame oil, stock powder, and salt and pepper. Mix well before covering with a lid and cook until the vegetables release their water and it just starts to boil in the pan. This will likely take between 5 and 10 minutes but keep a close eye on it as you don’t want the mix to dry out.

Turn the heat down to medium. Slowly, while constantly mixing, add in the batter. There should be enough that the vegetables are all fully coated but not swamped. Continue to cook and stir until the batter has thickened. Transfer the mix to the prepared cake tin, smooth out, and lightly brush the top with oil.

Clean out your wok, add a steam rack and water to just below the steamer. When the water comes up to a boil, transfer the cake tin to steamer and cover with a lid. steam for 30 – 45 minutes, or until a chopstick inserted into the centre comes out clean. You can eat the cake as it is (and it’s incredibly popular in some parts of the world like this) but I like to move on to the next step.

Let the cake cool down completely and refrigerate overnight – if not cooled completely it won’t cut cleanly. Remove the cake from the tin and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the cake into your favourite shapes, I like thin squares or bitesize cubes. Heat a non-stick frying pan on a high heat and fry until golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate and put the pan back on heat with a touch of oil. Stir fry the chilli, garlic, and spring onions until fragrant. Add back the cooked squares along with the soy sauce and toss to combine. Serve immediatly and enjoy!