芋头糕
I almost always order this dish when I'm at a dim sum restaurant -- it has a lovely chewy texture, crispy exterior, and is so delicious. Also often eaten over the holidays, for similar reasons as 年糕. It takes some patience but is surprisingly easy to make. Though in the future, I probably will just buy the frozen pre-made kind; you get a very similar result for a lot less effort.
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 2 hr 30 min
Ingredients
> taro (1.5 lb, cut into small cubes)
> dried shrimp (1/2 oz)
> ginger (2g, minced)
> garlic (2 cloves, minced)
> rice flour slurry (1/2 lb rice flour, 1.5 cups water)
> salt (1.5 tsp)
> sugar (2 tsp)
> chicken bouillon (1 tsp)
> oyster sauce (1 tbsp)
> sesame oil
> white pepper
Instructions
1. In a large wok over high heat, cook ginger, garlic, and dried shrimp for a minute or two. Add the taro, then stir-fry for a couple more minutes. Season with salt, sugar, chicken bouillon, and oyster sauce. Stir fry for another minute or so.
2. Add 1.5 cups of boiling water. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook for another minute or so.
3. Pour the rice flour slurry into the wok and a little bit of sesame oil and white pepper. Working quickly, stir for about 90 seconds until the flour and taro are evenly mixed together.
4. Transfer the taro cake mixture into a large, deep plate that is generously oiled. Smooth out the surface of the cake so it's flat.
5. Using a steamer rack in a wok, add just enough boiling water so that the water is just touching the bottom of the plate. Steam for about 20-25 minutes over max heat. Test for doneness by poking it with a chopstick -- it's done when it comes out clean.
6. Let cool for a couple of hours (or if you want to speed up the cooling, use an ice bath)
7. Slice the taro cake into 1/2-inch thick pieces, and pan-fry for about 3-5 minutes on each side. Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Make sure to fully cook the taro. Taro can be poisonous if eaten raw due to its high calcium oxalate concentration.
> When adding the rice flour slurry, add it uniformly and work quickly. It will cook and congeal quite quickly if you're not careful, making it very difficult to work with.
> I used a large circular plate with approximately a 11-inch diameter. It was also fairly deep (~1.5inch) and that was the approximate thickness of the taro cake. If you have a differently sized plate, you may need to adjust your ingredient amounts and cooking time.
> The pan-frying step is absolutely essential. It won't be the same without the crispy exterior :)