Carrot Cake

Ingredients

Radish cake

• 800 gwhite radish, grated
• 300 grice flour
• 50 gcornflour
• 600 mlwater
• 1 tspsalt
• ½ tspwhite pepper
• 1 tbspoil

To fry

• 3 tbspoil
• 2 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2 tbsppreserved radish, rinsed and chopped
• 2eggs, beaten
• 1 tspfish sauce
• 1 tsplight soy sauce
• 2spring onions, sliced

For the black version

• 2 tbspsweet dark soy sauce

To serve

• chilli paste

Directions

1. Grate the radish and cook it in a pan with 200 ml of the water for about 10 minutes, until translucent and soft, then leave it sitting in its liquid.
2. Whisk the rice flour, cornflour, salt and white pepper into the remaining 400 ml of cold water until completely smooth.
3. Pour the batter into the hot radish and stir constantly over a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until it thickens into a stiff paste that will hold a spoon upright. Scrape it into an oiled shallow tin, level the top, and steam for 45 minutes.
4. Cool it completely and then refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight. A warm cake will not cut into cubes and smears into paste the moment it hits the wok.
5. Cut the cold cake into 2 cm cubes.
6. Heat a wok until it is smoking, add the oil, and fry the cubes hard without moving them for 2 minutes so that one face takes a proper crust. For the black version, add the sweet dark soy before the egg and toss until every cube is coated and caramelised, then add the egg the same way.

Technique

• There is no carrot in it. Carrot translates chai tow, the Hokkien term for white radish, and the orange root has never been involved.
• Black and white are the two schools and Singaporeans hold firm views. White is savoury and eggy; black is sweet and darker.
• The wok must be genuinely smoking before the cubes go in, or they stick and break.

Substitutions

• Ready-made radish cake, sold frozen in Chinese supermarkets, which takes you straight to the wok.
• Chopped preserved mustard stem if you cannot find chai poh.

Variations

• With prawns added along with the garlic.
• The Hong Kong lo bak go, sliced and pan-fried in slabs rather than cubed.
• With extra egg for a softer, more omelette-like plate.

History

Radish cake fried with egg and preserved turnip; ‘carrot’ translates chai tow, the Hokkien term for white radish, not the orange root.

Frequently asked questions

What is Carrot Cake?

Carrot Cake is a street food from Singapore: fried radish-cake cubes with egg, in black or white style. Radish cake fried with egg and preserved turnip; ‘carrot’ translates chai tow, the Hokkien term for white radish, not the orange root.

How long does Carrot Cake take to make?

Carrot Cake takes 30 min plus overnight chilling of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Carrot Cake?

Yes, within limits. Ready-made radish cake, sold frozen in Chinese supermarkets, which takes you straight to the wok. Chopped preserved mustard stem if you cannot find chai poh.

What is the most important thing to get right in Carrot Cake?

There is no carrot in it. Carrot translates chai tow, the Hokkien term for white radish, and the orange root has never been involved.