Potato Cake - 薯仔糕 - Syu Jai Gou

There’s a few kinds of savory steamed 糕 gou (cake/pudding) in Cantonese cuisine. In America, 蘿蔔糕 lo buk gou (turnip cake) is probably the most famous from dim sum restaurants. Lesser known here, are 薯仔糕 syu jai gou (potato cake) or 芋头糕 wu tau gao (taro cake). According to my mom, the locals in Hawaii prefer a thicker version of these cakes, where as locals in China prefer a thinner version. The only exception is for turnip cake and some people prefer thicker ones, especially around the New Year when fancy ingredients like 臘腸 laap cheung (Chinese sausages), 燒肉 siu yuk (roast pork), or 虾米 ha mai (dried shrimp) are loaded into them.

Both potato and taro cakes are very similar in how they are made, the only difference that my mom says is that taro readily absorbs more water, so the batter needs more water than potato. One of the other differences in making this is that turnip cake needs to be stir fried to remove some of the turnip’s liquid. Whereas potato and taro can be prepped by simply steaming them until they are soft and tender.

It’s not that hard to make, but it’s funny that my mom has never measured out how much water is in it. This kind of recipe is always hard to learn over the phone or by written instructions, so I figured it’s another good opportunity to record it by video. The hardest thing to describe without video would be getting the texture for the batter correctly and the video makes it pretty easy to figure it out. Not enough water, and the cake will be too stiff, too much water and it will be mushy.

Like many other dishes in Cantonese cuisine, steaming is a really important method of preparation. In the imagination of many Americans, stir frying in a wok seems to be a defining feature of Cantonese cuisine or Chinese cuisine at large and while it is important, it’s not the only defining technique. But if we’re more focused on Cantonese cuisine, steaming is probably more reflective of the Cantonese mentally with cooking to highlight the natural flavors of ingredients.

*Usually 虾米 ha mai (dried shrimp) is added, but I’m allergic to crustaceans so it’s omitted in this recipe. But I’ll leave some instructions if you want to add them.

RECIPE:
1 16 oz bag of rice flour
1 tbsp 蝦餃粉 ha gaau fan (pre-mixed store bought ha gaau flour), optional
Water
Neutral oil
1 cup of 燒肉 siu yuk (roast pork) or ground pork
2 large potatoes or 6 small potatoes
Chicken bouillon, to taste
Sugar, to taste
Scallions
Sesame seeds

*You don’t add any salt because some added ingredients like 燒肉 siu yuk (roast pork) or if you also add 虾米 ha mai (dried shrimp) then they are already salty. If you make this with fresh ground pork, then of course you will need to season that as you stir fry it.

Slice 1 cup worth of 燒肉 siu yuk (roast pork) into roughly 1/2 inch pieces. It doesn’t have to be exactly 1 cup worth and this is a great use of leftovers. Set aside.

Peel and slice the potatoes also into 1/2 inch pieces. Steam until they are tender and set aside.

Slice some scallions and set aside in a bowl. Set some sesame seeds in a bowl and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the rice flour and ha gaau flour (if you have this around, this helps make the dough a little more springy and gives a nice shine in its appearance) and add some hot water to begin kneading the dough. Hot water is important to add to the dough to help start some partial cooking of the flour. If you don’t do this, the flour in the batter later will separate very easily.

It should be very thick at first like a solid piece of dough. Knead it so there’s no dry clumps and add more water and continue to stir until it is the right consistency. The batter should drip off your hand and with some batter sticking to your hand. Once there are no lumps, set this aside. *Best to refer to the video to see what the consistency is like.

In a wok, over medium-high heat, add a little bit of oil and stir fry the 燒肉 siu yuk (roast pork) for about one minute until it is slightly golden. Add the potatoes and continue to stir fry for another few minutes or until it’s slightly golden. Add chicken bouillon and sugar to taste. (When I recorded this recipe back at home, my parents have a very old electric stove that’s very strong. Most modern stoves are not as strong and will take longer to stir fry than the video.)

*If you use 虾米 ha mai (dried shrimp), rinse them beforehand to clean them and set aside. They are small and will readily absorb water from being rinsed. When stir frying, add the shrimp to the wok for about a few seconds before adding the pork, taking care not to let them burn.

Transfer the mixture of pork and potatoes to the batter and gently stir. The batter should get thicker since the potatoes will absorb some of the water. Add some more water as needed to get the batter back to the texture before the potatoes were added to it.

Oil some tall walled plates and set aside.

In a wok or other large pot, set up a steaming rack and heat over medium-high to high heat. Once the water is boiling, mix the batter and fill a plate until it is about 3/4 inch thick. It is important to mix the batter briefly before you steam as the batter can separate quickly. Because of this, you should only fill in the plates just before steaming. Steam for 15 minutes. You can tell it is done when the batter slightly separates from the wall of the plate.

At the end, sprinkle some sliced scallions and cover for 15 seconds. At the end, uncover and sprinkle sesame seeds. Slice and serve.