Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)

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.

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