Vegan Daikon Radish Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten Free, Savoury
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 8 or 9-inch round pan
 
Ingredients
  • 1 large (~3 lbs) daikon radish, shredded*
  • 1 bag (400g) rice flour, as needed
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil** + more for greasing pans
  • 1 shallot, finely diced
  • 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and diced
  • 1 small carrot, finely diced
  • 2 green onion, diced
  • 2 to 3 tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp ground white pepper
  • Hoisin sauce and hot sauce, for serving
Instructions
  1. Grease a deep large round pan (8 or 9 inches wide, 2 inches deep) liberally with oil. Set aside.
  2. Put the shredded daikon radish, and all its water, in a large mixing bowl. Add half a bag of rice flour (approximately 200g) to the radish and mix thoroughly. Keep adding rice flour until there is very little water at the bottom of the mixing bowl and the mixture becomes thick and gooey. The amount of rice flour needed will depend on the size of the radish and how much water was naturally in it. I used about ¾ of a bag.
  3. Heat 3 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, sautee the shallot until fragrant. Then add the shiitake mushrooms and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Finally, add the diced carrot and cook for another 1 minute or so.
  4. Add all the cooked veggies, and the oil that it was cooked in, into the radish mixture. Add the green onion then season with salt and white pepper. Mix until everything is evenly combined.
  5. Transfer the radish cake batter into the greased pan and cover loosely with aluminum foil. This is to prevent any water from dripping onto the cake while it steams.
  6. Steam*** for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool to room temperature then cover and refrigerate overnight.
  8. Sliced chilled radish cake into rectangles about ½-inch thick.
  9. Heat a dribble of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sear both sides of the radish cake until golden brown. Serve hot with hoisin and hot sauce.
Notes
*Optional: reserve the last 3-inches of the radish and cut into sticks for some textural contrast
**Do not skimp on or omit the oil or your cake may turn out dry and rough
***Usually these cakes are steamed in a double broiler-type set up but if you happen to have a steam oven like me (mine is from Cuisinart), use the Super Steam setting at 300°F and put the pans on the top rack to prevent the bottom from burning.
Recipe by Radiant Rachels at https://radiantrachels.com/vegan-daikon-radish-cake/