This savory turnip cake (sometimes called radish) lo bak go is a very traditional dish often served at dim sum houses, and when I was a kid, it always showed up on the table on Chinese New Year’s Day. As a result, it’s been etched in my mind as a wonderfully delicious tradition.
Having sampled versions of turnip cake (or lo bak go, as it’s known in Cantonese) at many dim sum restaurants over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that they can’t be compared to our homemade recipe. The restaurants definitely skimp on the filling ingredients, including the star of the dish, the Chinese turnip. Most of what you get is rice flour and starch.
To be fair, I do have to say that adding fewer filling ingredients makes the restaurant versions much smoother–almost like pudding, if you like that consistency. Also, the Chinese turnip is a very pungent vegetable that definitely falls into the love it or hate it category. For better or worse, everyone in the house will know when you’re cooking Chinese turnip!
The Chinese turnip, or lo bak, is a long, white vegetable with a green top. I’ve always been confused by this, but I believe they’re interchangeable with Japanese daikon radishes (they could very well be the same vegetable!). When choosing your turnip/radish, make sure they’re heavy. This means they have a high water content, which is an indication that they haven’t been sitting around too long. A good sized one is generally about 20 ounces, which is what this recipe calls for.
Read more about this Chinese radish or turnip and others on our Asian Beans, Mushrooms and Root Vegetables ingredients page.
My sister Ginny is an expert at carrying on the family turnip cake tradition, and this recipe is adapted from the version she makes. She emphasizes that you should be able to clearly see and taste the turnip, and I wholeheartedly agree with her stance. You can certainly make adjustments to the recipe…including the amount of sausage, turnip, mushrooms and scallion you add. You can also easily make this a vegetarian/vegan dish by eliminating the shrimp and sausage, and substituting a different dipping sauce for the oyster sauce.
If you like this classic Chinese Radish Lo Bak Go, then you must try our Taro Cake – Wu Tou Go or our Carrot Rice Cake Luo Bo Gao recipes!
Lo Bak Go: Recipe Instructions
Grate the Chinese turnip/daikon radish. We just used the largest holes on a box grater.
Add grated turnip and 1 cup water to a wok or large pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the turnip does not brown. The turnip will produce liquid, some of which will evaporate.
You will have liquid left in the pan with the radish but don’t worry about measuring it. Scoop the cooked turnip into a large mixing bowl to cool. Next, pour the remaining liquid into a measuring cup and fill the rest with water until you have 1 cup of liquid and pour it back in with the cooked turnip.
Heat your pan over medium heat and add a two tablespoons oil. Add the dried shrimp, rehydrated Chinese black mushrooms, and Chinese sausage and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped scallion and remove from the heat to cool.
Add rice flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and white pepper to the mixing bowl with the radish and cooking liquid.
Mix well until the dry ingredients are well-incorporated.
Add in the cooked shrimp, mushrooms and sausage, and be sure to scrape the oil from the pan into the batter. 
If you like your radish cake soft, you can add another 1/4 cup or more of boiling water to the batter. If you feel the batter is too thin, return it to the wok on low heat to thicken the batter while stirring. Mix well and let sit for about 15 minutes.
Give the batter a final stir and pour it into a well-oiled loaf pan. Place the pan into a steamer with plenty of water and steam over medium-high heat for 50 minutes. See our post on how to set up a steamer if you’re not familiar with steaming foods in Chinese cooking.
Remove the pan from the steamer and let your turnip cake set for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, loosen the sides with a spatula and turn it out onto a cutting board. It should come out quite easily.
Use a sharp knife dipped in water to slice ½-inch thick pieces. I know people who’d enjoy it just like that, but most people pan-fry them first. Add a couple tablespoons oil to a non-stick or seasoned cast iron pan over medium-low heat. Fry the cakes on both sides until golden and crispy. Serve with oyster sauce!
Tip: You can also make this turnip cake in advance, refrigerate it in the loaf pan, and slice/fry later. If you’ve refrigerated turnip cakes that you’ve already fried, the best way to reheat them is in a pan. When reheating, heat the pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Place the cakes in the pan, immediately add a couple tablespoons of water, and cover. Remove the cover when the water has evaporated, flip, and brown the other side.
Serve with hot chili oil or oyster sauce on the side.
Turnip Cake (Chinese Lo Bak Go)
Ingredients
- 20 ounces daikon radish (grated)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
- vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon dried shrimp (washed, soaked and chopped)
- 3-5 dried shiitake mushrooms (washed, soaked, and chopped)
- 1 Chinese sausage (diced)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
- 1 1/4 cups rice flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- white pepper (to taste)
- Oyster sauce (for dipping, optional)
Instructions
- Add the grated turnip and 1 cup water to a wok or large pan, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the turnip does not brown. The turnip will produce liquid, some of which will evaporate. You will have liquid left in the wok with the radish that you will also use. Scoop the cooked turnip into a large mixing bowl to cool. Pour any remaining liquid in the wok into a measuring cup, and add water until you have a total of 1 cup of liquid. Add it to the mixing bowl with the cooked turnip.
- Clean your wok or pan and place it over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons oil. Add the shrimp, mushrooms, and sausage, and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped scallion and remove from the heat to cool.
- Add rice flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and white pepper to the mixing bowl with the radish and cooking liquid. Mix well until the dry ingredients are well-incorporated. Add in the cooked shrimp, mushrooms and sausage, and be sure to scrape the oil from the pan into the batter. If you like your radish cake soft, you can add another 1/4 cup or more of boiling water to the batter. If you feel the batter is too thin, return it to the wok on low heat to thicken the batter while stirring. Mix well and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Give the batter a final stir, and pour it into a well-oiled loaf pan. Place the pan into a steamer with plenty of water and steam over medium-high heat for 50 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the steamer and let your turnip cake set for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, loosen the sides with a spatula and turn it out onto a cutting board. It should come out quite easily.
- Use a sharp knife dipped in water to slice ½-inch thick pieces. I know people who’d enjoy it just like that, but most people pan-fry the turnip cake first. Add a couple tablespoons oil to a non-stick or seasoned cast iron pan over medium heat. Fry the cakes on both sides until golden and crispy. Serve with oyster sauce!
- Note: You can also make this turnip cake in advance, refrigerate it in the loaf pan, and slice/fry later. If you’ve refrigerated turnip cakes that you’ve already fried, the best way to reheat them is to re-fry them in a pan.
