Making turnip cake

Turnip cake or lo bo gao is a Taiwanese side dish made from the daikon root. It's not really a cake, but a steamed mixture of shredded daikon, rice flour and water. It's difficult to compare it to a western food. The texture is similar to the dense, springy, slightly gooey nature of polenta? It has a mild flavor and is served pan-fried with oyster sauce. Dim sum restaurants serve it, so some may be familiar with it that way.

Yesterday, Gramma decided to make some lo bo gao, country-style, and I thought I'd document the process:

Ingredients: Shredded daikon, soaked rice ground to a paste, white pepper, corn starch, water
Tools: Wood stove, bucket, spatula, steamer, cheesecloth, mesh cloth, 3-inch bamboo segments

When you have the fire in the wood stove going, cook the shredded daikon with a little bit of water until soft.

Combine ground rice, white pepper, corn starch and water in a bucket. Stir until evenly mixed.

Add cooked daikon to the bucket and stir frequently. More stirring will give it a better springy texture!

Fill the stove top dish with water and place steamer on top. Set bamboo segments vertically in a large round steamer to allow some air through. Cover steamer with cheesecloth and mesh cloth. Pour in contents of the bucket.

Spread the mixture evenly in the steamer. Add more wood to the fire and steam for about an hour until firm.

Remove steamer from heat and cut the cake into small rectangles about 3/4 inch thick. Pan fry with oil on high heat.

Viola! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside lo bo gao. Dip in sauce and eat!