Lo Bak Go-Style Turnip Cakes

📝 Ingredients

• 4 turnips (about 150 g each)
• 150 g rice flour (non-glutinous)
• 150 g turkey lardons
• 3 spring onions
• 200 ml water (50 ml for cooking the turnips, 150 ml for the batter)
• 4 tbsp soy sauce (1 for the batter, 3 for serving)
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil (½ for the tin, 1 ½ for the pan)
• ½ tsp caster sugar
• Salt, white pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Grater
• Sauté pan with lid
• Mixing bowl and whisk
• 20 cm round tin
• Large stockpot with steamer basket
• Non-stick frying pan

📖 Steps

1. Peel the turnips and grate them on the coarse side of the grater. Slice the spring onions, keeping the white and green parts separate. Oil a 20 cm round tin, or any deep dish that fits in the stockpot, with ½ tbsp oil.
2. Fry the turkey lardons in a dry sauté pan over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until lightly golden. Add the white of the spring onions, cook for 1 minute, stirring, then set everything aside on a plate.
3. In the same pan, put the grated turnips with 50 ml water, the sugar, a pinch of salt and some white pepper. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the turnip is translucent and tender. Don't drain: its juice helps bind the batter.
4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk the rice flour with 150 ml cold water and 1 tbsp soy sauce until you have a smooth, lump-free batter. Turn the heat under the turnips down to the lowest setting and pour in the batter, stirring constantly.
5. Keep stirring for another 2 to 3 minutes over low heat: the mixture thickens into a sticky, dense dough that comes away from the sides. Off the heat, stir in the reserved lardons and spring onions, then pour into the tin, pressing down and smoothing with a wet spoon.
6. Bring 4 cm of water to the boil in a large stockpot fitted with a steamer basket (or, failing that, a plate set on an upturned ramekin). Place the tin inside, cover and cook for 40 minutes over medium heat, topping up with hot water if needed. It's done when a knife inserted in the centre comes out almost clean.
7. Remove the tin and leave to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, then for at least 1 hour in the fridge. This step is essential: while still warm, the cake is too soft and the slices fall apart in the pan.
8. Turn out the cake, cut it in half, then cut each half into 1 cm slices. Heat 1 ½ tbsp oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and brown the slices in two batches, 3 to 4 minutes per side without moving them, until they have a nice golden crust.
9. Serve the cakes straight away, sprinkled with the green of the spring onions, with the remaining 3 tbsp soy sauce poured into a small dish for dipping, just like in dim sum restaurants.