Chinese- Steamed taro cake

Steamed taro cake:This dish is a really popular Asian delicacy, especially in Malaysia and Singapore. A really common dim sum dish, these cakes are traditionally served as a breakfast or midday snack, especially in Chinese households.Chinese steamed yam cake, also known as taro cake, is a popular Asian dim sum dish. It is naturally vegetarian, and really easy to make.am cake is just a steamed savory cake that is made from yam, rice flour and other seasonings. It is then topped with fried shallots, sliced chilies and chopped green onions and is oftentimes served with either a sweet dipping sauce or a spicy chili sauce.



You may not guess at first glance that this savory taro cake is packed with flavor from Chinese sausage, dried shrimp and five spice. A garnish of spring onion, peanut and chili gives it color, crunch and heat.

SERVES 8     PREPARATION  20 MIN       COOKING 55 MIN       TOTAL   1 HOUR 15 MIN

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups rice flour
  • ½ cup corn  flour
  • 1 liter cool water
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 Chinese sausages (lap cheong), finely chopped 400 gator, diced into 1 cm cubes
  • 1 tsp five spice powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ⅓ cup chopped spring onions
  • ¼ cup roasted peanuts, crushed
  • ¼ cup fried shallots
  • 1 mild red chili, finely chopped

Instructions:

  • Make sure you have a wok and lid big enough to accommodate a 22–23 cm round cake tin. Place a cooling rack in the wok. Fill with enough water to reach 2 cm below rack. Heat water to a gentle simmer.
  • Mix rice flour and cornflour with the water to make a thin batter.
  • Heat oil in on medium flame. Saute shrimp and sausage for 5 minutes, or until colored and fragrant. Add taro, five spice, salt and sugar. Cook, stirring and scraping the sides of the pan continuously, for 10–15 minutes, or until mixture is a thick starchy paste. Taste and season further if necessary.
  • Transfer to greased 20–25 cm round cake tin. Increase heat so water is boiling. Steam cake with lid on wok for 42–45 minutes. Don't worry if cake looks a little wobbly when first out of the steamer, as it will firm up on cooling. Sprinkle spring onions, peanuts, fried shallots and chili over top of cake and cool to room temperature.

Garlic chilli sauce Blitz chillies, garlic, vinegar, salt and sugar in a blender, or grind in a mortar and pestle, to create a smooth paste. Pour into a saucepan and bring to boil. Allow to cool. Whisk in peanut oil to emulsify.

To serve, cut taro cake into diamonds (while still in tin), about 4 cm long. Lift each piece out and arrange in a circle to form a flower. Serve with garlic chili sauce at room temperature. You may refrigerate and re-steam if there are leftovers.

Garlic chili sauce

Ingredients:
  • 10 long red chilies, reseeded, roughly chopped
  • ½head of garlic
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • ¼ cup peanut oil
Method:The Red Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe is a simple quick recipe to make and is natural and has no preservatives. Making sauces at home is always a pleasure, because you just know what goes into the recipe. If ever you buy a store bought sauce, just scan through the ingredients and the amount of things that would go into making it last forever.
This recipe of the Red Chili Garlic sauce is extremely hot, as I have added the seeds that come along with it too. If you want it to be a little less hot, then you can remove the seeds to make a milder sauce