Vegan Kimchi Turnip Cake

Shred/grate half of the radish and squeeze radishes over a bowl to remove excess moisture. Chop another half into strips.

In a frying-pan heat 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat, fry shiitake mushrooms until golden brown, then add white button mushrooms to fry until they start to soften, add rice wine to stir-fry for about 30 seconds more. Transfer the mushrooms into a small bowl and set aside.

In the same pan heat 1/2 tablespoon more oil, fry onions until fragrant, then add carrots to fry until soft. Add Kimchi and mushrooms to give them a quick stir, then stir in oyster sauce, tamari, salt and ground white pepper. Taste and add more seasonings if necessary. The taste should be a bit more robust than normal as they should add flavors to the batter. Transfer the filling into a dish or bowl.

Grease a 4 inch x 7 inch x 1.5 inch rectangular pan with oil.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together white rice flour and tapioca flour, then add mushroom water/water, salt and ground white pepper to mix until no lumps. The batter should be thick like muffin batter.

Clean the frying pan. Add radishes and water to cook over medium-high heat, until the radishes become soft and translucent. There should be some water left as radishes will produce liquid after cooking. The liquid will be used for the batter.

Transfer the radishes and liquid immediately into the mixing bowl with batter while still hot. Stir them to combine, then fold in filling until evenly distributed.

Steam with a pot: use a pot that can fit your pan for steaming. Bring plenty of water to a boil. Pour batter into a greased pan. Put the pan inside a bamboo steamer and put the pot lid on, or if you do not have a bamboo steamer, just simply cover the pot lid with cloth to prevent water running onto the batter. Steam it for 40 minutes over medium-high heat. Steam with a steam oven: preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F). Pour batter into a greased pan. Put a lid covered with cloth over the pan. Steam it for 40 minutes over 110°C with steam mode. Insert a toothpick in the centre of the cake to see if it comes out clean to check the doneness.

Remove the mold from the heat and let cool for about 30 minutes to set. Loosen the sides with a spatula and put it upside down onto a cutting board. Slice the turnip cake into ½ to 1-inch pieces.

In a frying pan heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat, pan-fry the turnip cake slices until both sides are golden brown and crispy. Serve with chilli sauce/oil, tamari, hoisin sauce or peanut sauce as you like!