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Learn how to make this delicious savory Cantonese turnip cake or known as lo bak go (kue lobak). The savory cake is steamed and then pan-fried.
What is Chinese turnip cake?
Lo bak go (蘿蔔糕) translates to “turnip cake”. It is made with daikon radish, not turnips! The naming confusion arises from the language difference and historical context. In Cantonese, “lo bak” (蘿蔔) generally refers to radishes or root vegetables, and daikon radish is often called “white lo bak” (白蘿蔔). When the dish was introduced outside of China, the term was sometimes translated as “turnip” due to similarities between daikon radish and the Western concept of turnips. When “lo bak go” was introduced to Westerners, it was easier to translate it as “turnip cake,” even though daikon (a white radish) was the key ingredient. The name stuck since turnips and daikon look somewhat alike (both are white and rooty).
The traditional cake is made with grated daikon radish, rice flour, dried shrimp, Chinese sausage, and mushrooms, then steamed and pan-fried for a savory, crispy texture on the outside and soft on the inside. We call this Kue Lobak in Indonesia.
If you make this at home, you will soon learn that homemade lo bak go or kue lobak is truly the best. I love lo bak go with stronger daikon taste and aroma and you can usually achieve this at home or when you dine at restaurants which have a great dim sum. Most of the store-bought ones usually have more flour and less daikon taste, which is suitable for stir-frying, but I like this steamed version and then pan-fried. The pan-frying creates this thin golden crust on the outside.
Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)
Ingredients
For batter:
- 160 gr rice flour
- 40 gr cornstarch
- 350 ml water
Filling:
- 1200 gr Chinese turnip (daikon) already peeled weight
- ⅓ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil
- 5 shallots peeled and finely chopped
- 50 gr dried shrimps soaked in water and finely chopped
- 2 links Chinese sausage remove the casing and finely chopped
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in warm water
Seasonings:
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp abalone sauce
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp white pepper powder
Instructions
- Combine the rice flour, cornstarch and water and whisk into a smooth batter
- Grate daikon and toss with 1/3 tsp of salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the liquid.
- Preheat wok/skillet. Add in cooking oil. Saute shallots for about 2 minutes. Add the dried shrimp and saute for another minute. Add Chinese sausage and mushrooms and cook for another 1 minute until fragrant. Remove from the wok/skillet
- Add the shredded daikon and stir fry until it softens and a bit dry. Add the sausage mixture back followed by the seasonings. Stir to combine everything
- Give the batter a stir to combine and pour over the daikon mixture and stir fry over low heat. The mixture will start to get thicken. Off the heat
- You can use an 8 x 8 inch pan or 9 x 9 inch pan. You can also use two 4 x 4 or 5 x 5 inch pan. Oil the pan on all sides or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper for easier release later. You need a 7 inch round pan if you use 6 quart-instant pot (the cake will be taller)
- Spread the mixture into the pan as evenly as possible. Cover with aluminum foil
If steaming on the stove:
- Steam on medium-high heat for 50-55 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean without any wet batter sticking to it. If not, continue steaming for another 5 minutes or so. At the end of cooking time, It may still appear to be very soft. Don't panic, let it cool down completely (about 4 hours or so) before attempting to cut into slices. It will firm up nicely for you.
- You can serve as is or put a bit of oil in a non-stick pan and then pan-fry the cake before serving. Serve with chili sauce on the side
If pressure cooking with Instant Pot:
- Pour 2 cups of water in the inner pot. Place a trivet in. Place the pan on top of the trivet. Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to sealing. Set the timer to 45 minutes and then do a natural release. A tester inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean without any wet batter sticking to it. If not, pressure cook for another 5 minutes and check again. At the end of cooking time, It may still appear to be soft and wet. Don't panic, let it cool down completely (about 4 hours or so) before attempting to cut into slices. It will firm up nicely for you.
Pan frying:
- Cut the cake into desired size. Heat up a little bit of oil on a non-stick pan and pan fry both sides until lightly golden brown and serve with your favorite chili sauce or as is
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to make good lo bak go
1. Grate daikon and toss with 1/3 tsp of salt
2. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the liquid.
3. Preheat wok/skillet. Add in cooking oil. Saute shallots for about 2 minutes. Add the dried shrimp and saute for another minute
4. Add Chinese sausage and mushrooms and cook for another 1 minute until fragrant. Remove from the wok/skillet
5. Add the shredded daikon and stir fry until it softens and a bit dry. Add the sausage mixture back followed by the seasonings. Stir to combine everything
6. Give the batter a stir to combine and pour over the daikon mixture and stir fry over low heat
7. The mixture will start to get thicken. Off the heat
8. You can use an 8 x 8 inch pan or 9 x 9 inch pan. You can also use two 4 x 4 or 5 x 5 inch pan. Oil the pan on all sides or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper for easier release later. You need a 7 inch round pan if you use 6 quart-instant pot (the cake will be taller). Spread the mixture into the pan as evenly as possible. Cover with aluminum foil
9. Steam on medium-high heat for 50-55 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean without any wet batter sticking to it. If not, continue steaming for another 5 minutes or so. At the end of cooking time, It may still appear to be very soft. Don’t panic, let it cool down completely (about 4 hours or so) before attempting to cut into slices. It will firm up nicely for you.
This is an easy and pretty fool-proof recipe that mom gave me and I’ve made it several times since. I thought I was in heaven when I had this for breakfast two days in a row !!!! I will definitely be making this again very soon. You might also be interested in trying out Singapore Fried Carrot Cake
26 comments
Hi, thank you for this recipe. I will bookmark to make later. Right now, I’m trying to make the plain white one to make the Singapore fried Carrot Cake. The other recipes I found to make that was a flop because it won’t set when steamed.
So I seeked out this recipe instead. To make the white version, I was thinking to use your batter and daikon ratio. It will work you think?
Hi Tina, I have the recipe for homemade carrot cake for stir-frying here: https://whattocooktoday.com/stir-fried-carrot-cake-radish-cake.html Have you tried that one and it didn’t work ?
Hi Marvellina, thank you so much for the link to your Singapore fried carrot cake!
No it wasn’t your recipe that I tried. That one was 600ml water to boil 350g of daikon (no discard to keep only 480g like your recipe) , and did not include tapioca starch.
I will definitely try your recipe.
My carrot cake would not set when steamed, so sad!! I read the comments on that recipe later, and many had trouble with mushy carrot cake, and one lady had my problem where it won’t set. Maybe our Daikon had more water content,,,
Oh I see! I hope you have better luck if you decide to try this recipe.
The best recipe I have ever tried and you made it so easy! Congratulations Marvellina! Thank you so much for sharing! May I ask you a question? I would like to double the amount of turnip, do I have to adjust the amount of flour and water? Or can the amount of flour and water remain the same? Very grateful, Natercia Silva from S.Paulo, Brasil (lived in HK)
Hi Natercia, I’m happy to know that you enjoy it. If you want to double the amount of turnip, you will need to double the rest of the ingredients too as the turnip will affect the consistency of the batter too. I hope this helps!