Anybody loves these “cai tao kueh” like I do ? Which do you prefer, the black or the white ?
For me, it will always be the black one. Whenever I ordered this dish at the hawker stall, I will always tell the uncle to “fry it darker” (炒黑一点！). The reason I prefer the black one is because I enjoyed it sweet. Although I know that some supermarkets do sell ready made radish cake for frying, which I ever try buying before, but even the smallest serving seems too much for me and the cake wasn’t that bustling with really ALOT of radish.
So this time I tried to make my own from scratch. Spreading over 2 days, I made the black version on day 1 and the white one on day 2, so that I can know which one I prefer. Amazingly, after the 2nd day, I seem to have a penchant for the white version instead from then on. Hahaha !!
And all it takes is just one piece of fresh radish that I have ordered from PurelyFresh, I managed to enjoy the two huge servings of fried radish cake over both days. Although many said it’s unhealthy to use lard oil to cook this dish, but it really brings out the fragrance very well ! Compiled with alot of minced garlic and “cai poh” or preserved radish and eggs, the thought of it is making me salivating again ! LOL !!
Hope you guys enjoy this dish too !!
- 400g shredded radish + 100ml of water
- 120g rice flour + 125ml water
- dash of salt
- ½ of the radish cake from above
- 5 tbsp pork lard oil
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp preserved radish/turnip/cai por (soaked in water before use and drained well)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 tbsp sweet sauce (adjust according to individual's taste)
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- dash of pepper
- some spring onion, diced (for garnishing)
Shred the radish into thin strips using a grater or food processor.
Place the shredded radish onto a steam plate and add 100ml of water to it. Steam it on low heat for 30 minutes till the radish turns translucent in colour.
Set aside the steamed radish and allow it to cool completely.
Add 125ml of water and salt to the rice flour and mix well till the flour is all dissolved.
Add in the cooled radish to the rice flour mixture and spread them out so that the rice flour mixture covers the radish completely.
Pour the mixture into a 7 inch round baking tin that has been oiled and steam on medium-high heat for 45 minutes.
Allows the radish cake to cool slightly in the tin before unmoulding.
Unmould the radish cake after it has cooled and leave it overnight in the fridge.
Prepare the pork lard oil by heating up some cooking oil. Cover the wok immediately after adding the pork lard to prevent the oil from spurting.
Remove the wok from the heat once the pork lard turns slightly brown. The pork lard will brown further by itself when set aside in the warm oil.
Cut the radish cake that has been chilled overnight into small pieces.
In another wok or frying pan, add in 3 tbsp of the pork lard oil and fried the radish cake till they turned slightly brown.
Add the remaining 2 tbsp of pork lard oil before adding the minced garlic and preserved radish and continue to stir well.
Add in 2 tbsp of the sweet sauce and mix well.
Add in the beaten eggs, and flipped them over the radish cake when they are half cooked. If you prefer the radish cake to be in whole pieces, try flipping more instead of stir frying. I prefer the black version to be mashy, so I stir fried to break them down further.
Add in the next 2 tbsp of sweet sauce (if desire sweeter, or adjust accordingly), fish sauce and pepper. Mix well.
Dish and garnish with diced spring onion. Serve hot.
