Radish cake is eaten during Chinese New Year as a symbol for togetherness.   My friend, Ophelia, made the dish this year again….I wish she lived closer coz I would love to get together and have a slice delicious law bak goh!  She shares the secret from her mom — the oil keeps the batter together.  In addition, she recipe-tested my recipe and this is what she says:  “I added one cup less water than your [original] recipe – I judged it by the consistency … when it looked too watery, I added a little more rice flour.  It was 11pm by the time I was done steaming.  I decided to put the whole pan outside the door, and by the Monday it was nice and firm, ready to be fried for New Year breakfast! “  Looks like the 2010 Washington DC snowmageddon did come in useful afterall!

Anyways, I promised her if she shared the picture, the recipe will be on the blog forever so she needn’t search high and low for her copy each new year!  Here we go!  This is the revised recipe (do note to add more water/ rice flour as needed).

2 lbs Chinese white radish, grated
1 cup water + 1 cup water

4 Chinese sausages, finely diced
1/4 cup dried shrimps*, soaked in warm water with 1 tablespoon sherry, drain and chop
2 + 2 tablespoons oil
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, or use fresh, finely diced
2 cups rice flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon scallion, finely chopped

1. Peel and grate radish. Place shredded radish in a small pot or saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, than reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Let cool.
2. Start a steamer over a wok of boiling water.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok. Stir-fry sausage, 1 minute.  Add the shrimp; fry 30 seconds and mushrooms, 1 minute.  Remove from heat. Set aside.
4. Add 1 cup water to radish mixture.  Add in rice flour, sugar, salt, pepper and 5 spice powder and mix until consistency of thick oatmeal.  You may need to add more water or rice flour.  Add 2 tablespoons of oil.
5. Add in sausage & mushroom mixture, scallion and cilantro.  Mix well.
6. Line a 6 inch by 9 inch (or a 9 inch diameter) cake pan with parchment paper and grease with oil liberally. Pour mixture into it. Place on rack in steamer. Steam over briskly boiling water 1 hour.
7. When cold, refrigerate overnight.
8. To serve, slice 1/4 inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 3 inches long. Fry slices in 1 tablespoon oil until golden brown. Serve hot.

Serves: 6-8

Tags: Cantonese, Chinese, dim sum.

For the many of you who are googling for a dumpling recipe on Chinese New Year! Have fun!  When I lived in HK and China, I always enjoyed getting together with friends and rolling out the dough and shaping the dumplings during CNY.  Somehow this tradition didn’t make it to South East Asia.

Chef’s tip: You can also use “sui kow” skin instead of making the dough from scratch.

Dough:
1 ¼ cup of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup of water

Filling:
1/2 lb of ground pork
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger2/3 -1 cup of cold water
1/2 egg
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or sherry
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped

Dipping sauce:
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
2 spring onions (green onions, scallions), chopped

Preparing the dumpling skin
1. Mix salt and flour together.  Make a well in the middle and add water to make a stiff dough.
2. Knead till dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Cover with a damp kitchen cloth and let rest 20 mins.
4. Roll out dough into long rods, cut into small pieces – the size of a cherry
5. Roll each dough into a round ball, flatten with your palm, and then roll out on a floured surface till it forms a small disc about 2 inch in diameter
6. Sprinkle corn flour on each piece so that they would not stick together

Preparing the dipping sauce
7. Whisk together all the dipping sauce ingredients

Preparing the dumplings
8. Finely chop the bokchoy stems. Mix with 2 teaspoons salt and set aside for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess moisture.
9. Mix meat, bokchoy, egg, ginger, wine, salt and pepper.  Add water till it becomes a paste.
10. Brush the upper half edges of the dumpling skin rounds with water.  Place a dumpling skin on your palm and mound about 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each skin.  Fold into a half moon.  Very carefully, insert your left index fingers between the wrapper on the open edge, then using your right index and thumb, create 3 small pleats on the upper skin, then press firmly to seal with the lower skin.   Press lightly to seal.  Make sure seams are well-sealed and place on a tray dusted with cornstarch.
11. Boil water to a rolling boil.  Add dumplings.  When the water has returned to a boil, pour in a cup of cold water.  Allow water to return to boil again, and add another cup of cold water.  When the water returns to boil the third time, the dumpling should be cooked through.

Assembly:
12. Place 4 -6 dumplings in a bowl, serve with dipping sauce

Serves: 6-8

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My family eats this dish for lunch on the first day of Chinese New Year for the “opening of the year” meal.  It’s all vegetarian, so I guess it’s to set us up for good karma for the year for not killing any animals, even if it’s only one meal a year.  Well, if that >1 billion Chinese all over the world skip meat for just one meal, that’s a lot of animals not killed.  In non-Asian places, the dish is aka Buddha’s Delight – although it really has nothing to do with the Buddha, but it sure is a delightful dish despite its somber colors!  Anyhoo, this chye choy is very delicious with a mix of mushrooms and soy derivatives, and makes a great vegan offering.

Chef’s tip:  The “fatt choy” are those little black strands you see in the picture.  (no worries, its not hair!  We do respect food safety standards.)  It’s a kind of seaweed.   But with a name like “fatt choy” like in Kong Hee Fatt Choy, eating it brings you good luck!  Happy year of the Tiger.

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced or halved
4 oz Nameko mushrooms, whole, trimmed
4 oz crimini, halved
1 cup cloud ears mushrooms, fresh or reconstitute ½ cup dried
1 cup tiger lily buds, fresh or reconstitute ½ cup dried
1 cup enoki mushrooms

3 Tablespoon canola oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups Napa cabbage, sliced

8 cubes fermented bean curd
3 Tablespoon canola oil
1 cup water

2 cups fried tofu puffs
1 large piece yuba, fresh or reconstituted, cut into 2 inch strips
2 oz gingko nuts, shelled
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 oz mung bean noodles, soaked
1/2 cup “fatt choy” seaweed

1. Soak dried mushrooms (if not using fresh) and lily buds in hot water for 15 minutes.  Trim hard ends off lilies.  Tie a knot through each bud.
2. Thinly slice shiitake and cloud ears.
3. Slice napa cabbage.
4. Heat a large wok.  Add 1 Tablespoon oil and 1/3 of the minced garlic and fry till it sizzles.  Add cabbage, fry for a minute until wilted.  Remove and set aside.
5. Add 1 Tablespoon and remaining garlic and fry till it sizzles.  Add fermented bean curd.  Add the shiitake, and the remaining mushrooms, except for the enoki.  Saute until mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes.  Add water and bring to boil.
6. Add tofu puffs and yuba and gingko nuts.  Cook 1 minute.  Add soy sauce to taste.
7. Add mung bean noodles and seaweed, bring to boil, or until noodles are translucent.

Serves: 6

Tags: Chinese, Mushrooms, vegan, Vegetarian.