Dim sum is such an important thing for my family. We go to dim sum to celebrate special occasions or just to get together as a big extended family. I always liked eating turnip cake, so my mom learned to make it at home for me!
That way, when I went to college, my mom would send me back to school with a whole pan of radish cake. I would sear them up fresh to share with my roommates.
As I tried to work more vegan meals into my diet, I swapped out the traditional Chinese sausage and dried shrimp with more mushrooms. Honestly, the star of this recipe is the radish, so I really wasn’t missing the meats. The mushrooms were a meaty-enough replacement.
When steaming the radish cake, make sure you add BOILING water to the pan. Don’t add in cold water because it will disrupt the whole steaming process, throwing off your cook time.
Since the water needs to come to a boil again, I just put water into a measuring glass and heated it up for 2 minutes in the microwave, then added it to the pan. That way it didn’t cool down the existing water.
Keep your mushrooms in your cake, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Vegan Radish Cake (Lo Bok Go)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs daikon radish
- 10 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tbsp avocado oil divided
- ½ cup water
- ½ pound rice flour
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- Dash of white pepper
Instructions
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Rinse and soak dried mushrooms under cold water. Soak for 5-6 hours or overnight. Pat mushrooms dry. Remove and discard stems, then finely dice mushroom caps.
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Peel and grate the daikon into thick strips. Save any daikon juice that’s expelled during grating.
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In a large wok over medium heat, heat up 2 tsp oil. Add the mushrooms and saute until they become golden brown. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside for now.
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In the same pan, heat up remaining 1 tsp of oil. Add grated daikon and stir for 5-8 minutes. Add the daikon juice and water, bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool until it’s just warm.
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While daikon mixture cools, set up a large pot or wok with a steaming rack. Add water until you have enough to barely touch the bottom of the steaming rack. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
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When daikon mixture has cooled to just warm, stir in rice flour, salt, syrup, and white pepper. Stir in mushrooms.
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Transfer daikon mixture to 8”x8” aluminum pan. Place the pan on a steaming rack. Cover and steam for 60 – 70 minutes over medium heat.
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Check every 30 minutes and add boiling water to the pot as needed.
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Turnip cake is done when you stick in a toothpick and it comes out clean. Once cooked, remove from the steaming rack and let cool. I recommend covering pan with saran wrap and letting it cool in the fridge overnight before cutting into slices.
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In a large pan over medium heat, heat up oil before pan frying the turnip cake. Sear on each side for 3 – 5 minutes until golden.
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Serve with some tamari or hot sauce!