Delicious Chinese Desert

This is one of my all time favourite desert.



Yam Cake (Wu Tow Ko) is very popular in Malaysia and Singapore especially in morning market for breakfast. The ingredients include dried prawns soaked and chopped coarsely, shallots sliced, stalks spring onions, sprigs Chinese parsley, red chillies and sweet & spicy sauces.


INGREDIENTS:

• 170g rice flour
• 30g tang min flour (wheat starch)
• 350g yam, diced into cubes
• 50g dried shrimps, soaked and chopped coarsely
• 4 nos. shallots, sliced
• 2nos. water (240ml and 320ml)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 3/4 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Dash of pepper

Savoury topping:

• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 6 nos. chinese mushrooms, soaked and diced
• 60g preserved radish, soaked
• 2 nos. chinese sausages, diced
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• Dash of pepper
• Dash of five spice powder
• 1 stalk spring onion, finely cut
• 2 nos. deseeded red chilies, chopped

METHOD of Preparation:

1. Grease one 7 inch square tin with cooking oil. Set aside
2. Start cooking water in a steamer. Meanwhile, prepare Step (3) to (5).
3. In a mixing bowl, mix rice flour, tang min flour and 240ml water to batter. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 tbsp cooking oil in a wok/ pan, fry half of the shallots and half of the dried shrimps (reserve the rest for topping) until fragrant. Add yam and 320 ml water and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and add batter prepared in (3). Season with salt, sugar and pepper. Keep stirring. When batter thickens (but not 'solidifies'), dish out to prepared tin.
6. Steam yam cake over rapid boiling water for 1 hour.
7. Meanwhile, prepare the savoury topping. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Fry the reserved shallots till fragrant. Add dried shrimps, mushrooms, radish and chinese sausages and continue to fry.
8. Season topping with sugar, light soy sauce, pepper and five spice powder. Dish out and set aside.
9. When yam cake is cooked, let cool for 30-45 minutes.
10. Spread topping on top of yam cake (as shown in picture). Garnish with spring onion and chopped chilies. Serve.

NOTES:

• Take note in Step (5), mixture thickens quickly as soon as the batter of Step (3) is added. Keep stirring. Turn off fire as soon as the mixture turns 'sludgy'.
• I did not plan before making this yam cake. Hence, I did not prepare spring onion and chopped chilies. You are encouraged to use them as they really give so much better flavour to the yam cake.
• There are two ways to prepare the yam; you either shred it, or dice it. I decided to dice it because firstly, it makes the texture of yam cake firmer; secondly, you can still see and bite the yam cubes after steaming.