Meatless Monday

So I saw on my Twitter Lines, that it's Meatless Monday & I realised that I haven't posted a recipe, at least not a Vegan/Vegetarian one, in a while...

Here is one of my FAVE DimSum dishes "Turnip Cake" (*or Daikon Cake, if you prefer to use that)
also known as Long Bok Gaw or Daikon Mochi - they're usually eaten on Chinese New Year, which is when I first had it... and normally it has Chinese Bacon or sausage in it, or even dried Shrimp, but my friend's mom doesn't eat meat, so she made it without.

Vegan Long Bok Gaw

 *NB: THIS RECIPE IS NOT PALEO!

 

This amount of batter will make a square cake that yields about 48 little cakes.

Each. about 50-60 calories depending on how much oil you use to fry them in.

Ingredients

• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 200g / 7oz (about 1 1/4 cups) rice flour
• 200g / 7oz (about 1 1/4 cups) sweet or glutionous rice flour or mochiko
• 1 small to medium daikon (mouli) radish, yielding about 4 cups (880ml) shredded
• 1 Medium carrot, shredded
• 1 cup boiled edamame (beans only)
• 3 tablespoons white miso
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup drained canned white or cannellini beans
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (fresh coriander) leaves (optional)
• 1 Tbs. sesame oil
• Vegetable or olive oil for frying the little cakes
• Additional soy sauce or hoisin sauce, optional

Equipment

• A frying pan, with fitting lid
• Suggested: Food Processor

Prep. Method

• Soak the shiitake mushrooms in enough warm water to cover, until they are softened.(I just put them overnight in the refrigerator in cold water.)
• Combine the rice flours in a bowl.Peel the daikon radish and shred them with the fine shredder attachment of a food processor, or by hand with a grater.(You should end up with around 4 cups)
• Squeeze out by hand (use cheese cloth) and reserve the liquid
• Shred the carrot & Chop up the green onion and coriander finely.
• Drain and squeeze out the shiitake mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid.
• Take the stems off the shiitake mushrooms and slice thinly.
• Heat up a wok or frying pan with the sesame oil, and briefly stir fry the vegetables (except the daikon), white beans and edamame until it’s all coated with the oil (you can add some red chili pepper flakes or fine chopped fresh chilli if you want spice)
• Add the soy sauce, stir around a bit and take them off the heat
• Dissolve the miso in the mushroom soaking liquid.
• Stir the daikon into the rice flours & Add the mushroom soaking liquid with the dissolved miso.
• Add the sautéed vegetables.
• Slowly add the reserved daikon liquid until the batter is like a very thick pancake batter (*shouldn't be runny at all)

Cooking Method - Quick Version

• Heat an oiled frying pan to Medium/High (until you see some light smoking)
• Portion out & drop 1-1.5tablespoons of the batter onto the pan & lower the heat to low
• Cover with Lid & steam-fry until the bottoms are a golden brown
• Flip & steam-fry until both sides are browned

*Takes about 5-7mins per side

Typically, you would portion it out, set it into a mold, steam for 1hour, refridgerate overnight (to set glutens) and THEN fry when ready... but I am FAR too lazy, for that... so I asked for a faster way to prepare it & as I am not Chinese, the fact that they aren't perfectly square/equally portioned for division during New Year's dinner doesn't bother me ONE BIT! :)

 

Hope you like it! It's a "cake" but not a dessert, it's a glutenous side dish.
#omnomnom

Mia