Cooking with Xianyitang dried ingredients
Golden pan-fried slices have a tender centre, with the mild sweetness of daikon, savoury shiitake, dried shrimp and shallots. Steam and chill the cake ahead, then slice and fry for a weekend dim sum brunch.
Times are estimates. Allow for the soaking, cooling and chilling shown above, and check the state and doneness described in the method.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Rinse mushrooms and cover with 600 ml warm water for about 15–30 minutes, until fully pliable with no dry core. Thicker pieces may need longer: keep total room-temperature soaking under 2 hours and refrigerate covered if extending it. Discard the water and rinse. Separately soak dried shrimp in a little cold water for around 15–20 minutes or as its label directs, then discard that water, drain and chop. Do not mix the soaking waters.
Cover the mushrooms with about 1 litre fresh water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 40–60 minutes until thoroughly cooked and tender, topping up with hot water as needed. Drain, cool briefly, discard tough stems and dice the caps to about 5 mm. Keep this cooking liquid out of the batter. Soaking and a brief stir-fry do not replace this stage.
Put grated daikon and 300 ml fresh water in a covered pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10–12 minutes, stirring until tender. Drain through a sieve and press gently, without squeezing the shreds dry. Measure exactly 260 ml of the cooking liquid, topping up with fresh water if short; set surplus aside for another use. Let the measured liquid cool until lukewarm. Do not add another 300 ml water.
Heat 10 ml oil and fry shallot for about 2 minutes. Add cooked mushroom and dried shrimp and fry for 3–4 minutes. Whisk rice flour, cornflour, salt, sugar and white pepper with the measured 260 ml lukewarm daikon liquid until no dry flour remains. Fold in drained daikon and the fried filling. Stir again before filling the tin if starch has settled.
Lightly grease a 20 cm square heatproof tin. Spread the mixture evenly, about 2.5–3 cm deep, and cover loosely with foil against drips, without sealing. Steam above boiling water for about 60–70 minutes or longer until set with no raw white paste in the centre; a clean probe should read 75°C for 30 seconds at the centre. A deeper cake needs longer. Top up the steamer with hot water as necessary.
Lift out with oven gloves and cool on a rack for about 45–60 minutes. Once the initial heat has gone, cover and refrigerate at 5°C or below within 2 hours of steaming. Chill for 2–4 hours or overnight until firm, then unmould and slice about 1.5 cm thick. Do not wait for hours at room temperature or try to slice the hot cake.
Use the remaining oil in batches in a frying pan. Cook over medium heat for about 3–4 minutes per side, adjusting for thickness, until golden outside and steaming hot in the centre. Allow roughly 8–10 minutes or longer overall. Serve hot; the mushrooms and shrimp provide savoury flavour without an extra sauce.
Contains crustaceans in dried shrimp. Check flour labels for cross-contact information. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Cool the steamed cake promptly and refrigerate at 5°C or below within 2 hours of steaming. Preferably slice and pan-fry within 24 hours. Frying counts as reheating: take only what you need, eat fried portions the same day and do not repeatedly chill and reheat.
