Turnip cake

Turnip cake

Alternative names	Radish cake
Course	Dim sum, yum cha
Place of origin	Southern China
Region or state	Chinese-speaking areas
Main ingredients	Shredded radish (typically Chinese radish), plain rice flour
Variations	Fried, steamed, chai tow kway
Media: Turnip cake

Turnip cake is a Chinese dim sum dish. The less common name radish cake is more accurate, as Western-style turnips are not used in the dish but rather shredded radish (typically Chinese radish) and plain rice flour. It is traditionally called carrot cake in Singapore.

Turnip cake is commonly served in Cantonese yum cha, usually cut into rectangular slices and sometimes pan-fried before serving. Each pan-fried cake has a thin crunchy layer on the outside from frying, and is soft on the inside. The non-fried version is soft all over. It is one of the standard dishes found in the dim sum cuisine of China as well as in overseas Chinatown restaurants. It is also commonly eaten during Chinese New Year, since the word for radish (菜頭; chhài-thâu) is a homophone for "good fortune" (好彩頭; hó-chhái-thâu) in the Hokkien language.^[1] In Taiwan, turnip cake is also commonly eaten as part of breakfast.