For a long time I thought Lo Bak Go (Cantonese radish or daikon cake) was hard to make. My first attempt was a flop, and I kept buying the pale blocks from the Chinese grocery — bland and studded with bits of pink filler. With oyster sauce it was decent, but it never matched dim sum. That changed when my sister-in-law’s mother, an excellent Chinese cook, showed me the simple method. There is no trickery to Lo Bak Go: once you know how it should look and feel, the recipe is straightforward and fail-safe.
Amounts in this recipe are guidelines and can be adjusted to taste. The most important thing is getting enough rice flour so the mixture firms up into a solid cake.
Tips for making lo bak go (savory daikon cake)
If you want to include plenty of daikon for a lighter, fresher cake, a food processor is very helpful — it saves time when grating large quantities. A good, durable model with multiple blades will be useful for many kitchen tasks.
Important: use plain rice flour, not glutinous rice flour. They behave differently in recipes and are not interchangeable.
Peel and grate the daikon. A food processor will do this in minutes.
Dice the other ingredients. Fry Chinese sausage (lap cheung) to render the fat — you can keep it all for flavor or remove some if you prefer less oil. Use some of the rendered fat to sauté the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and soaked dried shrimp.
Remove the cooked sausage, mushrooms and shrimp and set aside.
Using some of the reserved sausage fat, sauté the grated daikon until it becomes soft and translucent. As it cooks it will release liquid. Add water, salt, a little chicken bouillon powder (optional) and white pepper, then mix well.
Turn the heat off. Slowly sprinkle in the rice flour a little at a time while stirring to avoid lumps. The daikon juices and rice flour will thicken into a very thick paste; it becomes stiff and slightly difficult to stir when it’s ready.
When the mixture is very thick, fold in the fried Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp and chopped scallions (or chives).
Spread the mixture into a steaming pan or several smaller containers if needed. Press firmly to remove air pockets, checking the base so the cake sits evenly.
Steam the cake for about 75 minutes (larger containers may take longer). Test doneness by inserting a skewer or chopstick — it should come out mostly clean without sticky, wet batter. Let the cake cool before unmolding.
Slice and serve as is, or for the dim sum-style crispy edges, refrigerate overnight, then pan-fry slices in a little oil until golden and crisp. Serve with oyster sauce for dipping.
Recipe summary
LO BAK GO (Savory daikon cake)
Cantonese-style daikon (Chinese radish) cake commonly served at dim sum. Homemade Lo Bak Go is generously packed with sausage, shiitake and dried shrimp, giving it much more flavor than many restaurant versions.
Prep time: 30 mins · Cook/steam: 1 hr 15 mins · Total: about 1 hr 55 mins · Serves: 6
Equipment
- Food processor or shredder (optional but useful)
Ingredients (metric)
- 1 kg peeled and grated daikon (Chinese radish)
- 25 g dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and soaked
- 3 sticks Chinese sausage (lap cheung), diced
- 25 g dried shrimp, rinsed and soaked
- 15 g chopped scallions
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp chicken bouillon powder (optional)
- 2 cups rice flour (do not use glutinous rice flour)
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
Instructions
- Peel and grate the daikon.
- Dice the shiitake, sausage and rehydrated dried shrimp.
- Fry the Chinese sausage until it renders fat. Remove or reserve excess fat as desired. Use some of the fat to sauté shiitake and dried shrimp; remove and set aside.
- Using a portion of the sausage fat, sauté the grated daikon until soft and translucent. It will release liquid.
- Turn off the heat. Add water, salt, chicken bouillon powder (if using) and white pepper; mix.
- Slowly add rice flour a little at a time, stirring to avoid lumps, until the mixture becomes a very thick paste.
- Fold in the cooked sausage, shiitake, dried shrimp and scallions.
- Spread the mixture into a steaming pan, pressing firmly to remove air pockets.
- Steam for about 75 minutes (adjust for container size). Test with a skewer — it should come out clean. Let cool before unmolding.
- To serve like dim sum, refrigerate, slice, then pan-fry slices in oil until crisp on the edges. Serve with oyster sauce.
Notes
This recipe yields a loaf roughly the size of a 9 x 5 x 2.5″ pan. Steam in a pot or wok using a trivet; watch the water level so it doesn’t evaporate during steaming.