Turnip Cake
by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
June 24, 2011
CHINATOWN BRASSERIE
380 Lafayette St
@ Great Jones St
New York, NY 10003
212-533-7000
Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
Turnip cake, a quintessential Chinese dim sum dish, is made of shredded Chinese radish (daikon) and rice flour, sliced then pan-fried. The key to good turnip cake is its consistency: it should be soft and a little gooey but not runny nor, on the opposite extreme, too hard. The turnip cake at Chinatown Brasserie is just right. The pan-fried exterior is crispy and the inside, with its bits of Chinese sausage, is soft but not runny. The spicy XO sauce with dried scallops and dried shrimp is an essential topping that goes with the cake like hand in glove .
Also in Chinese, Dim Sum, East Village
