Chai Tau in hokkien is Radish/Daikon. If i am not wrong, it is the Teochew who would fry them into this delicious dish. I have totally forgotten about this dish until someone who visited my blog and ask if i have a recipe for kway kak. In malaysia it is called chai tau kueh and kway kak could be singaporean. correct me if you please. The hawker version, for economical purposes has no or not much of radish in the kueh. My plate of chai tau kueh would have tasted so much better if i had a bam of chopped spring onions.
Ingredients:
Radish/Daikon/Chai Tau Kueh
1 lb radish - shred very fine and squeeze out juice
2 bowls(chinese rice bowl) rice flour
4 tbsp tapioca flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution(kan sui)
4 bowls water
For frying a plate :
1 bowl of diced radish cake
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp of fresh ground chilly or sambal olek
1 tbsp chopped preserved turnip (chai poh)
1/4 tsp sugar(omit if the chai poh is the sweet type)
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
a handful of taugeh(green bean sprouts)
1 tsp chopped spring onions
a dash of msg (optional)
a dash of white pepper
1 egg
2 tsp oil
Method:
To make the chai tau kueh
Mix the ingredients together in a large glass bowl and microwave on high, 2 minutes at the time, stir well, until mixture has thickened.
Pour into a 10 inch round cake pan and steam on high heat for 1/2 - 3/4 hour.
Leave to cool.
To fry one serving
Using a stickless pan, heat 1 tsp oil and pan fry the diced kueh until very fragrant.(do not stir or turn kueh until it is brown on one side).
Remove kueh to the plate and heat the other tsp oil.
When oil is hot, add chopped garlic and fry until fragrant before adding the chilly.
Add the chai poh and sugar and saute until well mixed.
Add in the pan fried kueh and dark soya sauce.
When well mixed, crack in the egg and fry until egg is cooked.
Add in the taugeh and stir fry (do not overcook the taugeh). Add in a dash of msg if using and the spring onions.
Dish out and dash with white pepper.
Enjoy while it is piping hot.
Serves
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Char Chai Tau Kueh
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57 comments:
Hi I have enjoyed your blog very much since I discovered it last month. Chai Tau Kueh as I know it, refers to the kueh steamed with stuff on top of it. I don't know for sure what now because I am not a fan of chai tau kueh and it has been years since I have seen one (or maybe I have glanced over it and not register it in my mind). Probably chai poh and dried shrimp. The plain one that gets fried is called char kueh in the North and char kuey kak the further south you go. In the Penang and Kedah, char kueh is fried with garlic, egg and bean sprouts only. This is one of my very favourites. Awww now I am hankering for char kueh. Darn, it mean I have to try to make it ;)
anonymous and joys of life
thanks for the explanation of this dish. whatever it is called, it is delicious, do try making it.
hi lily..i'm a regular of your blog and so happy to see this recipe. i'm a malay n had liked this the moment i 1st tried a few months back in a halal dim sum outlet. i just had it last tuesday and was thinking where to get the recipe from, so you can surely know how excited i am to see it in your post. thks a lot! will try to make this weekend..yippeee!
Hi Lily,
I have been following your blog for many months now, and I must say that yours is definitely up there with the best.
Your recipes are such a treasure, very reliable and oh so authentic.
Cheers,
Grateful Malaysian overseas
how i wish u r still around so i can taste ur wonderful recipe .....
I lived in Singapore for several maonths last year... very nice dish.
Ciao.
foodcrazee
what happened to my radish cake was that i put in a little too much lye water and it turned out like our hokkien tee ah kueh. I remember you like this kueh. My deceased aunty used to make good ones but died with her recipe. i think you should try to get recipe and keep up with our hokkien heritage.
thanks
Hello Lily,
I am across ur blog by accident. I am a Malaysian living in Toronto. You have posted many of the Malaysian recipes i have been looking for.
Thank you
looks like I better pay a visit to my aged aunt in Johor for her Tee Ah Kueh recipe..
foodcrazee
i am counting on you. I love this wiggly bouncy kueh eaten with aw bak.
Hi Lily: I accidentally came across your blog. You recipes made me hunger for Malaysian food. I was from Malaysia and I just love your blog.
For a Singaporean overseas (I dare say Malaysians too!), your blog is a godsend. Thank you very much for putting these recipes up. I have a siew yoke roasting in the oven as I type.
Hey Lily,
I discovered your blog by chance recently when I was looking for a recipe one day and I have been visiting it on a regular basis. My first thought was that you had to be Malaysian as so many of the recipes you list are a family classic at my household, stuff my mum used to cook for us.
Its good to have found your site as it'll be inspiration for me to cook some of the stuff we've since forgotten about. Keep up the updates, you're doing a great job and your recipes are very similar to my family's.
hi lily, u've got very nice blog skin. Could u tell me where you download from? =)
Hi Lily,
You've got very nice blog skin. Could you tell me where you download from? ;)
anonymous
i am not very computer savvy. a very good friend prepared this blog for me and taught me how to post. sorry i can't help you
Lily: Thanks so much for posting the recipe that I'd requested. I've been traveling and hadn't come to your blog for about 2 weeks. In KL, it's called "Chai Tau Kueh". But I think in Penang, they call it Kway Koak (and other spelling variants). When I did a search on Google for "Chai Tau Kueh", I references to it to "Kway Koak". When I saw a photo of the dish, I knew it was the same thing.
Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lily:
It's bee more than 20 years since I've had this dish. I don't remember it having radish in it. I remember the old street vendor frying steamed glutinous rice cubes and his sauces with lots of bean sprouts and chai poh. Can this dish be done without the radish and just have the steam glutinous rice cubes?
Here's a photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/docfiles/139636759/
Where do you get Chai Poh in the US???
speedolight
chai poh is available in all the asian stores in denver, they come in different forms too, big chunk, minced etc. it is written as pickled radish.
like i have mentioned, the hawker's version must not have radish/daikon in their cake. perhaps it is for economical purposes. you could make without and the ratio is 1 part rice flour and 2 parts water. it is RICE flour and not glutionous rice flour.
Hi Lily
Please tell us what does Charchai mean and what is tau Kueh
Thanks
ANONYMOUS
char in hokkien means to stir fry
chai tau also in hokkien means radish/daikon
kueh in hokkien is cake.
in cantonese it would sound like this 'chow choy tau koh'
Lily..I am so glad that you have all these recipes. I was looking for Nonya Chang recipe when i came across your blog. Luckily for me, i can buy ready to cook radish cake at the supermarket (Central Market in Washington State, USA), all i have to do is to add the radish and so forth. I look forward to more recipes. By the way, do you have any recipe for the Malay stir fried vegetables that they call "Sayor champor goreng" or something like that. It's mostly of long beans, fried tofu, cabbage, etc..i had it all the time when i used to live in Spore..also i am wondering if you have the recipe for 'char kueh tiow' - hope i got that right! I am originally from Sarawak, so i am not sure if you heard of our famous Sarawak Laksa! I brought back some ready made rempah three years ago when i was back home to visit my mum. It is very good!
I've craved kway kak for YEARS until I found your site. I made it yesterday and enjoyed every morsel. Thank you for sharing the recipe for my favourite childhood streetfood.
Lily:
Is chai poh preserved turnip or preserved radish? I see some sites saying that it's preserved radish.
speedolight
you are absolutely right
Oh my gosh!! Lily Ng, you ARE awesome! You're the answer to my depriving prayers for M'sian food! haha You should write a book of recipes for all Malaysians in the US... keep it up! :) And THANK you so much for every recipe that you share in your blog. It is very generous of you.
I don't have tapioca flour, can I substitute it with corn starch? Can I omit lye water? I have no idea where to get that.
I've made chai tau kueh or loh bak go in Cantonese with Chinese sausage and dried shrimp in it with radish of course and I would cut it in squares and pan fry them to get the crispy sides. I've been looking for a Char Chai Tau Kueh recipe for a long time, thanks for sharing, I'll definitely try it out!! :-)
alison'smom
sure you can sub with cornstarch/cornflour.
Lily, in Medan we have chai tau kueh, it is cut into 1 inch thick rectangle and fried in deep oil and eat as is or with chili sauce. This is my favourite kueh from childhood and am so glad you have it. when i finished steaming the kueh, i was worried with the texture. it seems to be so soft and gluey. but somewhat after it is cool down. it was perfect. i have substitute the sesame oil and soy sauce with 1 tbl spoon of fried dried prawn finely chopped in food processor. this is my first time making this kueh, and i just go by my memory of how it taste like. i have tried this cooking in johore, both my sister married malaysian man.. ;P and i love it as well. cheers
Hi Lily,
I came across your blog by chance recently & boy...it is great. Keep up the good work. I am a Penangnite living in UK. Kuih Kak is different from Chai Tau Kuih. Kuih Lak fry with beans sprout & chai poh & chai tau kuih normally just fry lightly till brown in a pan.
anonymous
thanks for the info.
glad you enjoy the blog
Hi, Thanks so much for this recipe.
Will try it out this weekend. I usually have to tapau from Melaka before coming back to KL.
Hi Lily,
I was very excited to find your recipe for char kueh kak (I'm Hokkien) - my husband and I were missing Malaysian hawker styled food!
However, am not sure what kan sui is. Can I mix it myself if I have the correct proportions of sodium bicarbonate and potassium carbonate? Where can I get these individual ingredients for kan sui?
Thank you very much!
anonymous
sodium bicarbonate and potassium carbonate solution/kan sui is readily available in asian stores and the picture of the bottle is here http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2007/05/ban-jian-kuih.html
hi! can i substitute "kan sui" with baking powder? think it is alkaline too? thanks
anonymous
i don't think baking powder will do but baking soda might
hi Lily,
Do i have to add the "kan sui" , can i omitted it. Because i'm trying to make it nature the food.
TQ
yy
yy
of course you can omit kan sui but the cake will be soft
Dear Lily,
It is my second time making this! However, whenever i fry the kuay, part of the kuay sticks to the wok (even though the wok is rather hot already). Can you advise how i can prevent this? Thanks alot for all the wonderful recipes!
anonymous
i use a nonstick pan. this is the best as all other pans will sure to stick
Hi Lily,
You are truly a Godsend!! Thanks for your unselfishness. May I ask what is the equivalent (in cups) measurement of 2 rice bowls for the rice flour? Thank you in advance.
anonymous
when i cook savories like these kuih kuih, the ratio of rice flour and water is 1 : 2.
so, if you are using a cup of rice flour - use the same cup to measure 2 cups of water.
Lily Ng...
I just came across your blog by chance today while I was looking for "char siew pau" under google and I was surpised that you have written so many recipes for us to share - "Well done!!!"
What about showing us your photo of yourself?
I'm S'porean, staying with husband in S'pore and every year we visit our daughter's fmly in Sweden during the summertime, for about 3 mths.
There I cooked my parnakan dishes for her S'porean, Malaysian and Swedish friends
All your recipes will be a great help to me for referral!!
Thx a lot!!
Caecilia
BTW - We have only one daughter. My 16 yrs granddaughter (Swedish citizen) & my son-in-law is Taiwanese/Swedish citizen)
Caecilia
I have one more daughter than you and have 3 grandchildren. I can't wait for my grand daughters to be 16.
I am camera shy and after seeing me, you all might shy away from my blog.
thanks for visiting and i am glad it can help you when you needed some recipes to cook with.
Dear Lily,
I just wanna thank you for sharing this great recipe! I am steaming the radish cake as I type. Not sure how it will turn out but I'm sure it'll turn out great! I have halved the recipe since I will be eating it alone. Planning to pan fry it next morning for brunch! Will let you know what's the outcome :)
Lily, guess what I'm having for brunch now!! OMG...I cannot believe I can actually make this dish. It's sooooo good! Thanks for posting the recipe :)
Hi Lily,
I love your blog. Being a Malaysian who's now living overseas, I turn to your recipes to learn to cook those dishes that I missed so much. I tried frying the Chai Tau Kueh yesterday, but somehow, the longer I fry it, the more mushy it turns. Is it bcos I used RICE FLOUR instead of GLUTINOUS RICE FLOUR? Thanks.
anonymous
rice flour is correct.
you must fry the cakes in a very hot pan so that it will brown as fast as possible. do not flip cakes before it is browned.
Hi, I'm a malaysian in California and I can't tell you how much I love your blog!!! You must be an angel!!I think you should publish a cookbook, I'll be first in line to get it!!!! THANK YOU, YOU'RE AWESOME!!!
hi aunty,
for the chai tau kueh, can i omit the kan sui?
will it be successful?
Thanks!
joe-lene
yes but the texture will be softer and do not flip them before they are brown on one side.
joe-lene
yes but the texture will be softer and do not flip them before they are brown on one side.
Hey Lily, I am interested to try this dish out, but I wanna make sure the quantity of rice flour, -chinese rice bowl (I dont know how big or how they should be) therefore i prefer a specific quantity, if you know it...
I am from Penang and this dish is called char kuih kak, chai tau kuih is completely different than this dish.
If you could please kindly let me know the quantity of the rice flour that would be great :)
Thanks in advance
kim
it dows not matter on how big the bowl is, if you use this particular bowl or cup to measure the flour, use the use bowl to measure the water. The amount of the radish does not matter that much, unless it is too much and flour is too litte.
Hello Lily,
thank you so much for this recipe. I approached it with skepticism because I did not have kan sui and did not feel like going out to buy a bottle, only to use 1 tsp. Anyway, I thought this was a healthy vegetarian dish so I decided I would try it anyway.
Verdict - sooo good!
I thought the cake contained a large amount of radish but instead there is more rice and tapioca flour combined than radish! What do you think would happen if I doubled the amount of radish and halved the rice flour? Maybe I will experiment one day.
Some comments which may help others -1. a few people have asked whether they can omit kan sui. I noticed that you said that it was a solution made up of potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Since sodium bicarbonate is baking soda and I have this in powdered form at home, I put in a 1/4 tsp. The radish cake turned out firm - probably not as firm as yours but quite good.
2. This quantity of mixture fits into a 20inch high rimmed baking tin. So unless you have a big steamer, don't make more. The radish cake is enough for 4 regular sized portions of chai tau kueh.
3. I have a spring form pan with removable base and was afraid that the mixture would leak out while steaming. So I used a trick I learned somewhere else. Wet a piece of parchment paper (cut it big enough to extend over the rim of the tin when fitted in). Squeeze out the water - it won't tear. Line the tin. Pour in the batter.
4. Refrigerating the steamed cake overnight will probably firm it up more.
Thanks once again.
franinmuc
you can put in more radish but not too much as the cake will not bind and will turn to a mushy mess when you fry them.
My dad loves this dish ^^
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