Singapore fried carrot cake is a savory dish made of steamed radish/turnip cake cut into cubes and stir-fried with eggs and seasonings. A popular hawker fare that you can make at home. A recipe for homemade chai tow kway is included too. You can make a white or black version of fried carrot cake.
Living in Singapore for a short while sure taught me how to eat “well” (*wink*). The choices of food and the availability of food are simply one of the things I like about Singapore. From fancy restaurants all the way to hawker/street foods, from East to the West, you name it, they have it. Of course, I’m always drawn to hawker/street foods anywhere I go. They said Singapore is a shopping haven. Well, I won’t deny that part, I think it’s also a food haven.
Stir-fried carrot cake is one of my very favorite dishes I had in Singapore. I remember almost every weekend morning as I walked to the wet market (almost like the farmer’s market here in the U.S.), I always made sure I made a stop at the hawker center to have the stir-fried carrot cake. Now, as I mentioned before in my previous post for Kue lobak / Chai tow kway that carrot cake is not actually the orange carrots that you imagine. It actually refers to the white daikon/radish.
Preserved radish (Chye poh)
There are two versions of carrot cakes available, the white fried carrot cakes and dark fried / black carrot cakes. Well, the color difference is merely from the dark soy sauce that is being used in dark carrot cakes. I think they are both equally good. Some people prefer dark ones over the white ones.
You can easily cook this fried carrot cake if you live in Singapore or Malaysia because the ready-made carrot cake can be bought from grocery stores. But homemade chai tow kway is way better. The texture of the cake is way better.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHAI TOW KWAY FROM SCRATCH
1. Bring 480 gr water to a boil. Add daikon and lower the heat to simmer and cover and cook for 5 minutes until daikon is soft. Take the daikon out. Measure out 480 gr of liquid and discard the rest
2. While daikon is cooking, mix rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, salt with 220 gr of water in a large wok or skillet.
3. Stir until you get a smooth batter. Don’t turn on the heat yet. We’re still waiting for the daikon to cook
4. Once the daikon is cooked, measure the liquid from cooking the daikon to get 480 gr and pour it to the flour mixture. Turn the heat on low-medium, add daikon and keep stirring until the batter starts to get creamy and heavier and thickened, but not too thick that you have trouble stirring
5. Transfer the thickened batter this into a round or square pan lined with a parchment paper (it’s easier to unmould later) and use a spatula to smooth the surface
6. Steam over high heat for 50 minutes or until skewers inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. The cake may still appear to be soft, but will firm up considerably once it cools down
HOW TO COOK SINGAPORE FRIED CARROT CAKE (BOTH WHITE AND DARK/BLACK VERSION)
1. Cut the chai tow kway into cubes
2. Preheat a large wok/skillet on high heat. Add 1 Tbsp of lard/cooking oil. Add the carrot cake in one single layer and fry until crispy and a thin crispy crust forms and then flip to the other side until lightly golden and slightly crusty
3. Add another 1 Tbsp of lard/oil and add the garlic and chai poh and stir-fry briefly for until fragrant, about 1 minute
4. Pour the beaten eggs over the carrot cakes and leave it for a while. Do not stir for about 10 seconds. When you see the eggs start to solidify at the bottom, flip it over and cook the other sides and drizzle with the last tablespoon of lard/oil. Add seasonings and stir to mix everything.
5. Add the sprouts and stir fry for another 10-15 seconds or until the sprouts are heated through but still crunchy and not wilted
6. Turn off the heat. Dish the fried carrot cake up into serving platters and serve immediately
DID YOU MAKE THIS SINGAPORE FRIED CARROT CAKE RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
The recipe is adapted from Kitchen Tigress’ with some modifications on the flour mixture. I like her recipe the best as it yields chai tow kway that is soft but not easily broken when you stir fry them.
DID YOU MAKE THIS SINGAPORE FRIED CARROT CAKE RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Singapore Fried Carrot Cake / Fried Turnip Cake (with Homemade Chai Tow Kway)
Ingredients
If using homemade Chai Tow Kway (7x7x2 inch) yield about 600 grams cooked:
- 250 gr daikon shredded or cut into strips
- 480 gr water about 500 ml, to cook the daikon
- 150 gr rice flour
- 15 gr cornstarch
- 15 gr tapioca starch
- ¾ tsp salt
- 220 gr water about 250 ml
If using ready-made daikon/turnip cake:
- 600 gr Daikon cake about 1 1/2 lbs, cut into cubes
For stir-frying:
- 3 Tbsp lard or use cooking oil for healthier version
- 4 cloves garlic (peeled and finely minced)
- ½ cup sweet chai poh soaked in warm water and then cut into smaller pieces
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- 4 handful fresh bean sprouts
Seasonings:
- 1 tsp fish sauce or more to taste
- 1 tsp soy sauce or more to taste
- 2 Tbsp dark soy sauce omit for white version
Instructions
Make the chai tow kway (prepare the day before):
- Line the base of the pan you are going to steam the cake in with a parchment paper. It's easier to take it out later. Bring 480 gr water to a boil. Add daikon and lower the heat to simmer and cover and cook for 5 minutes until daikon is soft. Take the daikon out. Measure out 480 gr of liquid and discard the rest
- While daikon is cooking, mix rice flour, cornstarch, and tapioca starch with 220 gr of water in a large wok or skillet. Stir until you get a smooth batter. Don't turn on the heat yet. We're still waiting for the daikon to cook
- Bring water in the steamer to a boil while waiting. Once the daikon is cooked, measure out the liquid from cooking the daikon to get 480 gr (or close to 500 ml) and pour it into the flour mixture. Turn on the heat on low-medium and keep stirring. Add boiled daikon and keep stirring until the batter starts to get creamy and heavier and thickened but not too thick that it's hard to stir. Remove from the heat
- Transfer the thickened batter this into a round or square pan lined with a parchment paper (it's easier to unmould later) and use a spatula to smooth the surface. Steam over high heat for 50 minutes or until skewers inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. The cake may still appear to be soft, but will firm up considerably once it cools down
- Let it cool down completely until the next day for the best result. Cut into cubes and get ready to fry the carrot cake
Fried carrot cake:
- Mix the seasoning ingredients and set aside. Cut the carrot cake into about 1-inch cubes. Preheat a large wok/skillet on high heat. Add 1 Tbsp of lard/cooking oil. Add the carrot cake in one single layer and fry until crispy and a thin crispy crust forms and then flip to the other side until lightly golden and slightly crusty. Add another 1 Tbsp of lard/oil and add the garlic and chai poh and stir-fry briefly for until fragrant, about 1 minute
- Pour the beaten eggs over the carrot cakes and leave it for a while. Do not stir for about 10 seconds. When you see the eggs start to solidify at the bottom, flip it over and cook the other sides and drizzle with last tablespoon of lard/oil. Add seasonings and stir to mix everything. Add the sprouts and stir fry for another 10-15 seconds or until the sprouts are heated through but still crunchy and not wilted
- Turn off the heat. Dish the fried carrot cake up into serving platters and serve immediately
Video (appear as pop-up)
Recommended products:
You might like this homemade Lo Bak Go (Dim Sum Turnip Cake) too
12 comments
Hi Marv, I just made your carrot cake and I have to say you have taken me back to Singapore! I miss all my home foods so thank you for taking the time to write all your recipes. I really do appreciate it. I am going to enjoy a second round of carrot cake now!
Hi Monica, I’m glad you like it 🙂 It is one of my favorites as well.
Hi I’m from Singapore. I use store bought radish cake and not sure why. only first 2 mins of the cooking (oil and carrot cake) I can feel the cake getting softer and as i cook it becomes even more mushy. Pls help.
Hi CQ, I wish I could comment more but I don’t know much about the store-bought radish cake you used. I wonder if it has been frozen before and that changes the texture making it more crumbly
Hello, how much water from the cooked daikon should I use? All of it (after simmering the daikon) came to more than 1 cup. I added all of it and the result is very watery even after steaming for more than 1 hour. Sigh. Would appreciate if your instructions are clearer. Thanks
I apologize for the confusion. I retested the recipe again today and actually using 480 gr (or close to 500 ml) of water from boiling daikon yields a better cake (not as tough). Please make sure that when you cook the batter on the stove, it actually thickens before you pour it to steam. I’ve updated the recipe accordingly. Sorry for the trouble!
This recipe did not work for me to. I had to dry the steamed carrot cake in the oven at 100 degrees for 1.5 hours to get the clean chopstick. Maybe I should not have the lid while steaming the cake? Because the condensation added extra water to the cake.
Hi Shiyan, make sure you steam over high heat and you should have the lid on during steaming because we need to capture all the heat to cook the cake. It sounds like it just need longer steaming time. It appears soft and slightly wet on top when it’s just done steaming and once it cools down completely, it will firm up considerably.
Hi Marcelina, I just wanted to ask which supermarket in which part of Singapore can you get pre made carrot cake from? I’ve been searching for a while but just can’t seem to find it. Including the name of the product would be helpful as well. Thank you
Hi Nicole, I asked my sister who lives in Spore and she said that supermarkets like NTUC or Fairprice do sell premade carrot cake. Usually, it’s in the refrigerated section. I actually saw it before too when I lived in Spore for a short while. I can’t remember the brand name though.
This looks delicious!! your food and photography are beautiful!!
Awww…Thank you so much Kaylen!!