Chinese Taro Cake (芋头糕)

Taro cake is a popular Asian dim sum dish. It is savory, fragrant and packed full of flavors. Now you can make this tasty dish at home!

Ingredients:

400 g or 3 cups taro, diced*

25 g or 1/3 cup dried shrimp

20 g or 1/4 cup of dried scallop

70 g or 1/2 cup Chinese sausage, diced

55 g or 1/3 cup Chinese ham, diced

2 green onion, sliced, separate the white and green parts

1 tsp Chinese five spice

1/2 tbsp Knorr's liquid seasoning or regular soy sauce

1 tsp chicken powder

1 tsp kosher salt

Aromatics:

2 medium or large garlic cloves, minced

1 small shallot, minced

Flour mixture:

200 g or 1 2/3 cup of rice flour

50 g or 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp glutinous flour

3 cups water

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

1. Soak the dried scallop and dried shrimp with 1 cup of hot water. Let sit for 10 minutes until soften. Then strain and set aside the soaking liquid.
2. Chop the taro, dried scallops, dried shrimp, Chinese sausage, Chinese ham into small pieces.  
3. In a large wok or pan, add 1-2 tbsp of oil and put on medium heat.
4. Add aromatics (shallots and garlic) and white parts of green onion. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the scallops, shrimp, sausage and ham. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the taro, liquid used to soak the shrimp and scallop and all the seasonings (five spice, salt, chicken powder, liquid seasoning).
7. Increase the heat to medium high and stir frequently until most of the liquid is gone/evaporated. (About 5 minutes)
8. Turn off heat. Add in the flour mixture and mix.
9. Scoop mixture onto a stainless steel round plate (with at least 2-3 inches in height) or into a Pyrex (I used a 8x6x2 in).
10. Steam for 45 to 50 minutes (You can check by inserting a toothpick or chopstick into the taro cake. If it comes out clean, then it is ready)
11. Let it cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour (it will firm up as it cools). You may add chopped cilantro on top if desire.
12. Serve with hot sauce or hot chili oil. *

*Notes

*I like using pre-peeled taro; however you can definitely buy the skin-on taro and peel it yourself.

*Once fully cooled, cut into large square/rectangle slices. You can serve them as is or pan fry them. I highly recommend the pan fry version (fry both side on medium heat until golden brown)!

*Dipping sauces I recommend are Sriracha or Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp.