Chinese Daikon cake (Law bock Gow)

Daikon, also known as mooli, white radish or rav is a mild flavoured Asian radish. I often see this vegetable being sold on the streets and markets in Mauritius, but have never been quite sure as to how it is used. When procrastinating in Port Louis one day, I found this old Chinese magazine in the pagoda with a recipe for turnip cake, then realised from the picture that 'turnip cake' is one of my favourite dim-sum dishes back in Manchester!

So, I decided to try my hand at this with great results! Definitely a favourite family recipe from now on!:)

MOOLI CAKE (LAW BOCK GOW)
Makes about 25 square cakes

• 3 lbs Daikon
• 250 g plain rice flour (not the glutinous type)
• About 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• About 2 tbsps dried shrimps
• Half a cup of water
• 1-2 tbsp oil
• 2 tsps salt
• 0.75 tsp sugar
• 1-2 Chinese sausage (OPTIONAL)

1. Leave your mushrooms to soak for a couple of hours, or if in a rush, for at least 30 minutes in hot water until they are soft, pat dry, remove and discard the stems. Finely dice and leave aside.
2. If using Chinese sausage, cover them in a large bowl of boiling hot water. Leave them to blanch for about 5 minutes (for easier chopping), pat dry and finely dice, leave aside.
3. For the dried shrimps, soak in cold water for about 15 minutes, pat dry, finely chop and set aside along with the diced mushrooms and sausage.
4. Peel the daikon and grate. Squeeze the grated daikon to remove excess water, making sure to keep this liquid for cooking afterwards.
5. In a large pan, heat up half of the oil and fry the diced shrimps, sausage and mushrooms. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until the mixture becomes golden brown and aromatic. (Put the extractor on if possible, this does have an overpowering smell!). Once cooked, set aside in a dish.
6. Using the same pan, heat up the rest of the oil and pour in your grated (squeezed) daikon, keep on medium heat. Cook for about 5-10 minutes stirring constantly. Add in the daikon juice and water and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Set aside for about 10 minutes until the mixture is lukewarm.
7. Meanwhile, set up whatever you will be using to steam this dish, I just used a massive pot with a metal stand to hold up the steaming dish, bring the water to the boil.
8. Back to the daikon mixture, stir in the fried aromatic mixture, salt and sugar. Slowly fold in the rice flour. Once incorporated & mix well, taste some of the mixture and add more seasoning if required.
9. Your mixture is now ready!! Pour into a well greased dish and steam for about 60 minutes, checking half way if you need to add more water etc. To check if it ready, poke a toothpick in the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean, it is done! Don't worry if it is slightly wobbly, it firms up as it cools.
   

You can either eat these Daikon cakes warm straight out of the steamer with some chilli oil, or cut into squares and pan fry just before eating (I prefer it this way!). The cold cakes last for 1-2 weeks in the fridge.

Don't let the number of steps put you off! This is well worth the effort! Easiest (and probably tastiest!) dim-sum I've made to date.

On another note, yesterday was 'Rakhi', an Hindu festival celebrated in India, Mauritius and Nepal. The tradition symbolizes 'eternal bond between a brother and a sister'. The festival has historical associations whereby Rajput queens used to send Rakhi threads to neighbouring rulers as a token of brotherhood. I'd say great day to get a friendship bracelet too :)
Now off to quad biking in the South of the island, woohoo!
Xx

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