Turnip cake (蘿蔔糕 Lo Bak Go) is a gluten-free Cantonese savory dish found in dim sum houses and local breakfast shops. Sharing turnip cakes with family is also a beloved Lunar New Year tradition. If you’re looking for a traditional grandma recipe, this vegan version isn’t quite that — but it tastes even better than what you’ll find in most restaurants!
I won’t say turnip cake is my favorite dim sum. For one, restaurant versions often have so little filling that you can barely see any — it’s like eating a plain block of steamed rice flour. For another, I love dim sum so much that I can’t even pick a favorite! That said, I’ve made sure this homemade version is packed with filling!
Texture of the Turnip Cakes Everyone has their own texture preference for turnip cakes. Most versions I’ve had in Hong Kong are slightly chewy, which I enjoy. For homemade versions, the texture depends on two things:
1. How You Prepare the Radishes I like the radish pieces to be visible in the cake so I can taste them in every bite. To achieve this, I prepared the radishes two ways — chopping half into strips and grating the other half.
2. Flours My family and I like turnip cakes that are neither too chewy nor too tender, so I added a little tapioca flour. If you prefer a more tender cake, reduce the tapioca flour and substitute with more white rice flour.
How to Make Great Vegan Turnip Cakes
The key is mushrooms. Instead of fresh ones, dried shiitake mushrooms are traditionally used in turnip cakes. They must be soaked for at least 6 hours beforehand, and the soaking liquid (“mushroom water”) can be saved for the batter — it makes the cake much more fragrant.
Along with shiitake mushrooms, I also used fresh white button mushrooms. I love their aroma, and they make a wonderful substitute for the dried shrimp in traditional turnip cakes! Different mushrooms have different flavors and aromas, so feel free to mix and match to create your own version.
To Serve
Turnip cakes are usually served with chili sauce/oil or simply dipped in soy sauce. But there are a few more sauces that I think are more “Hong Kong-style.”
Hoisin sauce is my favorite dipping sauce — it’s thick, sweet, and salty, making it great for complementing the richness.
This might sound unusual, but serving turnip cakes with peanut sauce is absolutely a thing! It’s commonly used with Chinese dishes like steamed rice noodle rolls (cheung fun) and cold mung bean noodles.
Storage
Even though it’s homemade, you can make this turnip cake ahead of time, like most families do. Store the steamed turnip cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Slice and pan-fry or reheat whenever you’re ready to eat.
