There are many ways to translate “lo bak gou”—turnip cake, radish cake, even carrot cake (as it’s commonly known in Singapore). While none of them are wrong, the origin of the three names is a linguistic mess. The main ingredient of the dish is Chinese turnip, which, as far as I know, is identical to Japanese daikon radish. (So I guess “turnip cake” and “radish cake” are both accurate.) And in Malay and Cantonese, the vegetable is known as “lo-bak”, which confusingly can also mean carrot (which somewhat justifies the translation to “carrot cake”). But whatever you call it, there’s really only one best way to have it—sliced into thick wedges, seared in a little smear of oil, and shot into your mouth straight off the pan, so hot it scalds your gum. Scorchingly savoury, with hints of umami from the lap cheong and mushrooms studded within, it scratches that nostalgic, dim sum itch (especially since many of us haven’t been to a dim sum restaurant in awhile, owing to the lockdown).

But despite its confounding name, the process of making lo bak gous is pretty fast, albeit furious. Grate a whole radish on a box grater (using the side with the biggest holes; because who knows what the other three sides do…), chop up some shiitakes, dried shrimp, and lap cheong, and fry them up in the passionate heat of a wok. Then, toss them together, the radish too, with some flour to bind, sprinkle in a flurry of five spice and white pepper, and steam them in scalding puffs of steam for 45 minutes. When it’s cooked through and cooled down, slice it up and pan-fry the slices like you would a pancake—with a touch of oil and gentle heat—then stack it up on a plate like a tower of Jenga.

You’ll end up with dim-sum-quality slices of lo bak gou, crispy with craggly, caramelised bits on the outside, soft and steamy on the insides. Whatever confusion you might’ve had about the name—turnip, radish, or carrot cake—all melts away once it tickles your tongue.

Lo Bak Gou

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 daikon radish, or Chinese turnip (~700g)
250ml water
120g rice flour
30g all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 lap cheong (Chinese sausage)
5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
10g dried shrimp, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 sprig scallion, sliced thinly

Directions

Cooking the radish: Peel the radish and grate it with a box grater into thin shreds (I use the biggest holes on the box grater). Transfer the grated radish into a pan, add 100ml of water to the same pan, and place it over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Let the radish and water simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the water has evaporated. Then, remove the radish from the pan, straining out and reserving all the liquid that remains. Measure this liquid, and top it up with more water until it reaches 250ml.
Measuring the dry ingredients: Combine the rice flour, all-purpose flour, salt, five spice powder, and ground white pepper in a bowl, and sift them all together.
Pan-frying ingredients: Mince the lap cheong, shiitake mushrooms, and dried shrimp into 1/2 cm chunks. Then, heat up a pan with a tablespoon of oil and fry them all together for 3-5 minutes, careful not to burn them. When done, reserve a tablespoon of these ingredients in a separate bowl, which we’ll be using as a garnish.
Prepping the steamer: Place a steamer set-up. (I use a wire rack over a wok of boiling water, but you can use a pan too, or a dedicated steamer basket.) While waiting for the water to boil, oil a 15cm x 20cm glass/metal tray to cook your lo bak gou in.
Making the batter: Combine the grated radish, dry ingredients, pan-fried ingredients (except for the reserved tablespoon of ingredients), and the scallions together in a bowl and mix until no lumps of flour remains. Then, pour this into the tray and even out the top. Steam the lo bak gou for 45-50 minutes. When done, remove immediately from the steamer and let it cool in the tray for at least 30 minutes, until it reaches room temperature.
Searing the pieces: Slice up the lo bak gou and pan-fry each slice in a bit of oil for 2 minutes on each side, until the sides get brown and caramelised. Then, stack them up on a plate and garnish with the reserved bits of lap cheong, mushrooms and dried shrimp. Then, eat!