Chinese turnip cake (蘿蔔糕) or lor bak go in Cantonese, is a savoury steamed radish cake packed with umami from Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms and dried scallops. Perfect for dim sum or Chinese New Year, it’s a comforting dish that’s full of flavour and texture in every bite.
Table of Contents
- What is Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)?
- Ingredients for Chinese Turnip Cake
- How to Make Chinese Turnip Cake
What is Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)?
Turnip cake (蘿蔔糕), or lo bak go in Cantonese, is one of my favourite dim sum dishes. It’s also eaten during Chinese New Year because the name sounds like “rising higher” in Cantonese, symbolising prosperity and good fortune for the year ahead.
Despite the name, it’s not actually made with turnip! It’s made with daikon radish, the big white radish you’ll find in most Asian supermarkets.
It’s a savoury steamed radish cake made with grated daikon and rice flour, usually packed with stir-fried umami fillings like dried shrimp, Chinese sausage, dried scallops and shiitake mushrooms. The mixture is steamed into a firm block, chilled until set, then sliced and pan-fried until golden and crispy on the outside.
I usually like to grate half of the radish and slice the other half into thin chunks to get a nice contrast in texture and bites of radish throughout.
I love how the stir-fried fillings bring so much umami. Store-bought turnip cakes, and even some restaurant ones, can be quite stingy with the fillings because dried seafood is expensive. You often end up eating mostly radish dough. But at home, you can go all out! Add as much Chinese sausage and dried seafood as you want!
Ingredients for Chinese Turnip Cake
Here are a few key ingredients to note. You’ll find the full ingredient list and quantities in the recipe card below.
Daikon radish
This is the star of the turnip cake, so make sure to pick a big and heavy radish. You can usually find them at most Asian supermarkets. Don’t worry if it’s slightly longer or shorter, weight matters more than shape. My recipe is for 800g of peeled radish.
The umami filling
The magic comes from a mix of umami-packed ingredients: dried shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp and dried scallops.
I like to include dried scallops for a more luxurious feel, but no worries if you can’t find them. The other three, dried shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage and dried shrimp, are the essential ingredients so you really shouldn’t skip them. You can find all of these at most Asian supermarkets.
Rice flour and tapioca flour
We use rice flour as the base to give the cake structure so it slices neatly. Tapioca flour is added to create a slight chew and a soft, bouncy texture, and it balances the density of the radish and makes the cake the right amount of tender inside while still holding together.
How to Make Chinese Turnip Cake
1. Prep the dried ingredients
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, dried scallops and dried shrimp in hot water for 30 minutes. Don’t throw away the soaking liquid because it is packed with umami and will make your turnip cake taste amazing.
Dice the Chinese sausage, shallots, mushrooms and shrimp. You can break the dried scallops into smaller pieces with your hands.
2. Stir-fry the filling
Heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and stir-fry for about a minute until fragrant.
Add the Chinese sausage, mushrooms, shrimp and scallops. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the oil from the sausage coats everything and the filling smells aromatic and fragrant. Set aside.
3. Prepare the radish
Peel your daikon radish. Slice half into 1cm thick strips and grate the other half. This gives the cake both chunky bites and soft pieces of radish.
Cook the radish in the same wok with 1 cup of water, covered, over medium heat for about 10 minutes until softened and slightly translucent.
Drain well using a sieve, pressing gently to remove excess water. Too much excess water will make the batter too thin. Save the radish liquid because it will be part of your batter later.
4. Make the batter
Combine the radish liquid with the saved soaking liquid from your dried seafood to reach 200ml total liquid.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the rice flour and tapioca flour. Gradually add the 200ml liquid while whisking until smooth and lump-free.
5. Combine radish, filling and batter
Add the cooked radish and stir-fried fillings back into the wok. Pour in the batter gradually in 3 batches, mixing thoroughly each time.
Season with 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt and 2 tsp sesame oil. Mix well.
6. Steam the turnip cake
Grease a baking tin or dish. I used a 24cm tin, which gave my cake about 6cm thickness. Pour in the mixture and cover with foil.
Place the tin on a steaming rack inside a deep wok or pot with about 1.5 inches of hot water. Steam over high heat for 50–60 minutes. If your cake is thicker, add extra time.
Check doneness by inserting a chopstick or skewer into the centre. It should come out clean, and the cake should be evenly coloured with no white batter.
Tip: Keep an eye on the water level in the steamer every 20-30 minutes and top up if it is evaporating.
7. Cool and refrigerate
Let the cake cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. Chilling helps the cake set firmly, making it much easier to slice and pan-fry.
8. Pan-fry and serve
Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat. Pan-fry the slices on both sides for 4–5 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
Serve with soy sauce, chilli oil or XO sauce for dipping.
More Dim Sum Dishes You’ll Love
Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)
6
servings30
minutes1
hourKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- For the turnip cake:
800 g daikon radish (peeled weight)
5 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated (reserve the soaking liquid for later)
50 g Chinese sausage (about 1 sausage)
30 g dried shrimp
25 g dried scallops
2 shallots, finely diced
- For the batter:
160 g rice flour
40 g tapioca flour
200 ml total liquid for the batter (see method for combining radish and soaking liquids)
1 cup water (to cook the radish)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp sesame oil
- To serve:
Soy sauce
Chilli oil
XO sauce
Directions
- Prep the dried ingredients
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, dried scallops and dried shrimp in hot water for 30 minutes. Don’t throw away the soaking liquid because it is packed with umami and will make your turnip cake taste amazing.
- Dice the Chinese sausage, shallots, mushrooms and shrimp. You can break the dried scallops into smaller pieces with your hands.
- Stir-fry the filling
- Heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and stir-fry for about a minute until fragrant.
- Add the Chinese sausage, mushrooms, shrimp and scallops. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the oil from the sausage coats everything and the filling smells aromatic and fragrant. Set aside.
- Prepare the radish
- Peel your daikon radish. Slice half into 1cm thick strips and grate the other half. This gives the cake both chunky bites and soft pieces of radish.
- Cook the radish in the same wok with 1 cup of water, covered, over medium heat for about 10 minutes until softened and slightly translucent.
- Drain well using a sieve, pressing gently to remove excess water. Too much excess water will make the batter too thin. Save the radish liquid because it will be part of your batter later.
- Make the batter
- Combine the radish liquid with the saved soaking liquid from your dried seafood to reach 200ml total liquid.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the rice flour and tapioca flour. Gradually add the 200ml liquid while whisking until smooth and lump-free.
- Combine radish, filling and batter
- Add the cooked radish and stir-fried fillings back into the wok. Pour in the batter gradually in 3 batches, mixing thoroughly each time.
- Season with 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt and 2 tsp sesame oil. Mix well.
- Steam the turnip cake
- Grease a baking tin or dish. I used a 24cm tin, which gave my cake about 6cm thickness. Pour in the mixture and cover with foil.
- Place the tin on a steaming rack inside a deep wok or pot with about 1.5 inches of hot water. Steam over high heat for 50–60 minutes. If your cake is thicker, add extra time.
- Check doneness by inserting a chopstick or skewer into the centre. It should come out clean, and the cake should be evenly coloured with no white batter.
- Tip: Keep an eye on the water level in the steamer every 20-30 minutes and top up if it is evaporating.
- Cool and refrigerate
- Let the cake cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. Chilling helps the cake set firmly, making it much easier to slice and pan-fry.
- Pan-fry and serve
- Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat. Pan-fry the slices on both sides for 4–5 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
- Serve with soy sauce, chilli oil or XO sauce for dipping.
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