Cantonese Pan-Fried Taro Cake with Chinese Sausage and Dried Shrimp

What you need

• 50 g (1/3 cup) dried shrimp
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, optional
• 430 g (15 oz) taro, peeled weight; wear gloves, the raw sap itches
• 2 lap cheong, Chinese dried sausages
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 200 g (1 1/2 cups) rice flour, regular, not glutinous
• 750 ml (3 cups) water, plus the soaking water from the shrimp and mushrooms
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for the tin and for frying
• 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
• 3/4 tsp five-spice powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper, ground
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 spring onions, chopped, for garnish

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Soak the dried shrimp and the shiitake in separate bowls of warm water until soft, at least 30 min. Drain, keeping 125 ml (1/2 cup) of the soaking water. Chop the shrimp roughly; stem and dice the shiitake.

2. 2

   Cut half the taro into 1 cm (1/2 in) dice and grate the rest coarsely.

3. 3

   Blanch the sausages in boiling water for 1 min to remove some fat, then dice them.

4. 4

   Whisk the rice flour with the water and the reserved soaking water into a smooth, thin batter.

5. 5

   Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the shallot until fragrant, then add the sausages, shrimp and shiitake and stir-fry for 1-2 min.

6. 6

   Add the diced and grated taro and stir-fry until it starts to soften at the edges, 3-4 min. Stir in the bouillon powder, five-spice, sugar, salt and white pepper.

7. 7

   Lower the heat to medium, stir the batter and pour it in. Stir constantly until it thickens into a heavy paste that holds its shape, 3-5 min.

8. 8

   Spoon it into an oiled 20 cm (8 in) square or round cake tin at least 6 cm (2 1/2 in) deep, or two smaller tins, press it level and brush the top with the sesame oil.

9. 9

   Steam over high heat until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out free of raw batter, 50-60 min. Top up the steamer with boiling water as needed.

10. 10

    Scatter the spring onions over the hot cake. Let it cool, then cover and chill for 3-4 hours, until firm.

11. 11

    Turn it out and cut into slices 1 cm (1/2 in) thick.

12. 12

    Fry the slices in a little oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat until golden and crisp on both sides, 3-4 min per side. Serve hot.

Imported from sweetheartkitchen.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.