Fried Carrot Cake ("Cai Tow Kuay")
This recipe is written in request. It has gotten some pretty good comments from our friends (YG, MC, Jane, Boon, TingTing, Kevin, Adrian, Lin, GeokWah and Zijian) who've tasted it before... Well, we all know and loved fried carrot cake. Those who like it "white" never really like the "black" version. Those who love it "black" thinks the "white" version sucks....
Ingredients :
300g Rice Flour
1.2 litre water
1 Radish (abt 9-inch long)
1 pkt Pickled Radish ("cai poh"), use abt half a pound.
6-8 cloves finely chopped garlics
Sweet Soy Sauce (for black)
OR
Fish Sauce (for white)
oil
lots of beaten eggs
chilli paste (optional)
spring onion for garnish
This recipe makes up to 5 plates.
Preparing the caipoh in advance
- Soak caipoh in water for 30 min to reduce the saltiness.
- Rinse it dry and chopped it finely.
- Heat a wok with oil, abt 2 tbs or more, fry the caipoh and garlics on medium heat for abt 10 min. Add 1 tsp sugar to it and continue frying for another 5 min. Remove and set aside.
Preparing the cake
- Shred the radish, place it in a pot together with water and rice flour and mix it thoroughly. Add 2 tsp salt to it.
- Boil the mixture under medium small fire until the mixture becomes sticky, this takes abt 10 min.
- Transfer to a heatproof tray (oiled), steam it on medium-high heat for 30 min. (I use a two 9-inch stainless steel tray and steam in 2 batches)
- Remove from steamer and let cool for up to a few hours.
For best result, store both the caipoh and cake in the fridge overnight.
When Ready to eat :
Get ready all the ingredients.. Caipoh, egg, sauce...etc. Cut the cake into big pieces.
You need a very hot wok to fry the cake to prevent sticking. Heat 3 to 4 tbs oil, throw in the cake and pan-fry until just brown, add caipoh (for each serving plate I uses 1 tbs of caipoh). Fry for a few seconds and then using the frying ladle, chop the cake into smaller pieces. Then pour in the beaten egg.
You know the rest. For black carrot cake, add sweet soy sauce. For white, add a few dash of fish sauce, and finally the chilli paste.
Serve with spring onion on top of fried carrot cake.
Sometimes, when you run out on caipoh and egg etc... you can just eat the carrot cake pan-fried. Like this...
posted by Cocoa | 6:08 PM
19 Comments:
if u feel homesick and wanna go back to sg, just beg cocoa to cook this dish and it will cure u of your homesickness! in fact, u dun feel like going back anymore!
i have to say that cocoa has finally mastered the art of "carrot caking". it takes soooo much of her effort just to get it to taste right; the texture, the taste (must get the right brand of dark soy sauce), the firmness (so that u can pick it up nicely with your chopsticks without it crumbling), and the chilli!!! (most important ingredient of all, else why bother to eat carrot cake).
i shd say that the best carrot cake that i've eaten is at boon lay market back in the 90s. dun even know if the stall exists anymore. guess only my dad knows where it is.
so i've to rate cocoa's carrot cake 9/10 cos it hasn't attained that standard yet. but guess what, i bet u can't find someone who can cook this better than her in the east coast of US!
This recipe really works! Taste perfectly like the one we eat in the hawker centers. No more cravings for cai tow kuay liao...
Rating 9/10
Wow it's not easy to find the white carrot cake recipe, thanks :)
Thank you for this recipe! I tried making cake yesterday and today I'll be frying them black! I miss Singapore Food ssoooooooo much!
I'm glad you like it!
Hi, you mind telling me how many gram is one radish? The radishes in Australia vary a lot. Some real big, some real small.
Do I steam this on high/medium/low heat?How long do I boil the mixture before it will turn sticky? Do I grease the heatproof plate with some oil? Thanks a lot.
hmm, I never really measured the weight of one raddish, I think I used a regular size one (abt 8 to 9 inch long...thickness is abt 2.5 inch) I hope this helps.
Boil the mixture on low fire and keep stirring "slowly" until sticky, this takes abt 10 min. Transfer to oiled steamable tray (dun use plate, cos u need to hold up the cake) and steam on medium-high fire.
I made this, though it was a lil' tedious (for me cuz I dont cook much), I realized my effort totally paid off when I taste them. Absolutely wonderful! Keep it up!
hi i really like to cook some but i am not good at cooking and also are you a singaporean? if so can i be friend with you? nev had one oversea before ;)if you wish pls add me on msn zni88@hotmail.com thks hope to hear from you soon
Cocoa, what brand of dark soy sauce and chilli paste do you use? Thanks.
I do not use dark soy sauce, note that the recipe for the black version uses "Sweet Soy sauce", those that you used in cooking fried kuey teow. It's thick and I find it at a chinese grocery store, sorry I don't remember the brand. I only know it is store in a glass bottle.
I make my own chilli paste, as posted at the blog too. But you can almost use any type, sambal, sweet garlic chilli, use in moderation.
Hope this helps.
Hi, I made this yesterday and it was simply out of the world- I ended up adding a bit more water than the 1.2L (because I boiled the radish in the microwave with some water), but it turned out absolutely perfect. Thank you!!
Boil in a microwave? I didn't know we can do that... but I'm glad it works for you.
very nice. thank you very much.
I tried couple of times but it always turn sticky, :( is it I have steam too long? Hmmm... Appreciate if u can share how to tell if the steaming is considered done?
It shd be sticky before you steam, did you boil on low fire and stir until u get a sticky texture? After steaming, it shd be firm.
Yes I did heat till I get sticky mixture that is difficult to stir texture before steaming it... But after steaming for more than say 30 mins,... The mixture become sticky n soft? Hmmm... No idea how I can harden it? So that it's like the one u made? Tks for ur reply though...
oh, yes, the plate of cake will appear sticky n soft right after steaming, you are to let it cool off completely so it will "set". It is better to place in the refrigerator overnight, remember to cover with plastic wrap to prevent stinking ur fridge. Hope this helps. Or if not, try adjusting size of raddish of use lesser liquid.
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