Vietnamese Fried Radish Rice Cakes (Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên)
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Vietnamese/Chinese Fried Radish/Turnip Rice Cakes (Banh Cu Cai Bot Chien)
What is Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên?
Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên translates to fried radish rice cake or fried daikon rice cake. In dim sum restaurants, they are commonly known as turnip cake.
This is a delicious and popular Vietnamese/Chinese dish that is an upgraded version of the Vietnam’s Bánh Bột Chiên.
Bánh Bột Chiên is made solely with rice flour and tapioca starch, whereas Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên incorporates grated daikon radish, resulting in a slightly different texture and flavor.
It can also contain other ingredients such as Chinese sausage and dried shrimp, which are more common in dim sum turnip cakes.
Vietnamese/Chinese Fried Radish/Turnip Cakes (Banh Cu Cai Bot Chien)
How to Eat Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên?
Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên is pan-fried in a bit of oil until crispy on all sides then served with either a sweet and savory soy sauce or fish sauce (nước chấm).
For a more loaded and filling option, you can add fried eggs (Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên Trứng). You can also add pickled carrots and daikon for a refreshing crunch.
Store-Bought Rice Cakes
Short on time? No problem! Many Asian grocery stores have pre-made, packaged blocks of these tasty rice cakes, both plain and with radish.
Look for them in boxes or vacuumed-sealed bags in the freezer aisle. Just take it home and pan fry.
While convenient, I do find that store-bought Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên is quite bland. Making your own allows you to add delicious ingredients like Chinese sausage, dried shrimp and other seasonings for extra umami flavor.
What You Will Need
If you opt to make it at home, gather the following ingredients:
Store-bought rice flour and tapioca starch
Rice flour (bột gao) — This is regular non-glutinous rice flour. This flour makes up the base of the rice cakes.
Tapioca starch (bột năng) — Tapioca starch gives the cake its chewy interior texture. If you can’t find tapioca starch, you can substitute with corn starch.
Daikon (củ cải) — Sometimes called Chinese turnip, Chinese radish, Japanese daikon radish or lo bak in Cantonese, a daikon is a type of radish. It is a long white vegetable with a green top.
Daikon radish
A Korean daikon is similar but is more stubby than long. Taste and texture wise, it is the same and can be used to make these rice cakes as well.
Dried shrimp (tôm khô) — Dried shrimp adds a salty umami flavor and textural contrast.
Chinese sausage (lạp xưởng) — Chinese sausage is a cured, sweet and savory pork sausage. It imparts a fatty sweet taste to the rice cakes. Chinese sausage is also known as lap cheong, lap chong, and lop cheung.
Seasonings — Ground white pepper, sugar, MSG, and salt to flavor the rice cakes.
Vegetable oil — A little vegetable oil is used to pan fry the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage to bring out their flavor and aroma to make the rice cake. It's also needed to pan fry the rice cake when it sets. If you don’t have vegetable oil, use other neutral-tasting oil such as canola oil, peanut oil, corn oil and sunflower oil.
Water — The liquid needed to make the batter.
Vietnamese/Chinese Fried Radish/Turnip Rice Cakes (Banh Cu Cai Bot Chien)
How to Make It
Step 1: Prep the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage
Soak the dried shrimp in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse. Chop the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage into small pieces.
Add oil to the skillet and heat on medium-high. Add dried shrimp and Chinese sausage. Pan fry until you get nice caramelization on the edges of the shrimp and sausage. Set aside.
Step 2: Prepare the daikon
Add grated daikon and a splash of water to a skillet. Sauté until daikon softens on medium-low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent browning. Remove daikon. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out excess moisture and set aside.
Step 3: Make the batter
Mix together rice flour, tapioca starch, ground white pepper, sugar, MSG, salt and water in a medium bowl until you get a runny paste-like consistency.
Step 4: Mix it together
Combine the batter, soften daikon, and dried shrimp/Chinese sausage mixture back into the skillet. Pan fry for about 5 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste.
Step 5: Transfer to mold and steam
Transfer mixture to an oiled pan. Place the pan into a steamer with plenty of water and steam over a medium simmer for 45 minutes. Carefully remove the pan from the steamer and let your rice cake set. Once cooled, loosen the sides with a knife and turn it upside down onto a cutting board and slice ½-inch thick square or rectangular pieces.
Step 6: Pan fry until crispy and serve
To enjoy, pan-fry the radish cakes by adding a couple tablespoons oil to skillet over medium heat. Fry the cakes on both sides until golden and crispy.
If adding eggs, heat a bit of oil on the other side of the skillet and crack your desired amount of eggs into the oil. Pan fry eggs however you choose. I simply like it over-easy with no additional seasonings.
Transfer the eggs and fried rice cakes to a plate. Garnish, serve with pickled daikon and carrot and dipping sauce.
Make it in Advance
If you aren’t ready to enjoy the radish rice cakes immediately, wrap slices individually and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Pan-fry from frozen for a quick and delicious snack.
Related Posts
If you enjoy this, you might also enjoy these rice cake recipes:
Spicy Korean Stir-Fried Rice Cakes (Tteokbokki)
Vietnamese Steamed Savory Rice Cakes with Mung Bean Paste and Dried Shrimp (Banh Beo)
Vietnamese Pyramid Dumplings (Banh Gio)
Vietnamese Sizzling Crispy and Savory Crepes (Banh Xeo)
Or try these top four blog recipes:
Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Peanut Sauce
Vietnamese Coconut Chicken Curry
Candied Strawberries (Foolproof recipe)
Easy Chinese-Style Soy Sauce Braised Pork Ribs
Vietnamese Fried Radish Rice Cakes (Bánh Củ Cải Bột Chiên)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Soak the dried shrimp in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse. Chop the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage into small pieces.
- Add oil (1 tablespoon) to the skillet and heat on medium-high. Add dried shrimp and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add Chinese sausage and sauté for one minute or until you get nice caramelization on the edges of the shrimp and sausage. Transfer the mixture into another bowl and set aside.
- Add grated daikon and a splash of water (about 2 tablespoons) to a skillet. Sauté until daikon softens on medium-low heat (about 10 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent browning. Remove daikon. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out excess moisture and set aside.
- Mix together the batter ingredient in a medium bowl until you get a paste-like consistency. Set aside.
- Combine the batter, soften daikon, and dried shrimp/Chinese sausage mixture back into the skillet. Pan fry for about 5 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste.
- Transfer mixture to an oiled pan. I'm using a 10"x5" loaf pan. Place the pan into a steamer with plenty of water and steam over a medium simmer for 45 minutes.
- Carefully remove the pan from the steamer and let your rice cake set for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, loosen the sides with a knife and turn it upside down onto a cutting board and slice ½-inch thick square or rectangular pieces.
- To enjoy, pan-fry the radish cakes by adding a couple tablespoons oil to skillet over medium heat. Fry the cakes on both sides until golden and crispy. If serving with eggs, heat a bit of oil on the other side of the skillet and crack your desired amount of eggs into the oil. Pan fry eggs however you choose. I simply like it over-easy with no additional seasonings.
- Transfer the eggs and fried rice cakes to a plate. Garnish green onions (optional) and serve with your choice of soy or fish sauce dipping sauce, and a side of pickled daikon and carrot (optional).
Notes
- Can substitute tapioca starch with corn starch.
- Can substitute vegetable oil with other neutral oils: peanut, canola or sunflower.
