Preparation / Directions:
Soak dried shrimps in lukewarm water until softened, drain. Mix well the corn starch with about 3 cups of cold water, by hand.
Dice the sausages. Heat about 2 T of oil in a pan and stir fry the sausages and dried shrimps for about 7 minutes. Add the soy sauce, cooking wine and about 1/2 t sugar. Stir fry for 1 more minute, remove from heat, and set aside.
In a large stock pot, heat up about 4 T of oil, the chicken broth, about 1/2 cup of water, about 1 T sugar, salt and ground pepper. Add the grated turnip and mix well. Cook, covered, over high heat for about 15 minutes.
Grease four 9-inch round cake pans with some shortening.
Add sausages to the cooked turnip mixture and mix well. Then add the cornstarch mixture and stir quickly over low heat until it looks transparent, about 7 minutes.
Place cake mixture in greased pans and steam over high heat for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Let the cakes cool completely before cutting. Cooled cakes can be easily taken out of pans upside down. Turnip cakes taste better when served warm and topped with soy sauce and a little bit of chili sauce. Or they can be cut up into thin slices and pan fried slightly with oil before serving.
NOTES:
* An easy recipe for Cantonese salty turnip cakes -- We usually make this cake in winter time. I got this recipe originally from a magazine in Hong Kong. It is a new and easy way to make this Cantonese specialty. I have tried this recipe on about ten Americans. They all like it.
* If you don't have a steamer, a 16 quart stock pot can be a very good steamer. Any casseroles that can fit in your steamer can be used instead of cake pans.
* Cantonese sausages are usually made with pork cubes. They are made by dehydrating the sausages with cold air and are usually available in the winter time. The diameter is about the same as American breakfast sausages but is about 5 to 6 inches long. The sausages have to be cut into very fine cubes so that they mix well with the turnips. The cake tastes good partly because of the flavor of the sausages. I have never tried anything else. But I think bacon bits might be able to mix well with the turnip mixture. Of course, the cake will taste different with bacon bits
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