Savory Taro Cake

I made this dish last weekend. Well, it turned out better than I expected. The recipe was adapted from the Famous Street Food Of Penang cookbook. I have omitted the garlic, and if I were to make it again, I will decrease about 20g of rice flour to achieve a softer texture. I also sprinkled some chopped scallions and red chilies to the taro cake.

Ingredients

Batter

350g Rice Flour

1 Tbsp Green Pea Flour

1250ml water

2 Tbsp cooking Oil

2 cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped

2 Shallots, peeled and chopped

600g Taro, skinned and cut into 1cm cubes

1 tsp Five Spice Powder

2 tsp salt, or to taste

1 tsp ground White Pepper

Toppings

150g Dried Prawns, soaked for 5 minutes and drained

10 Shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

oil for deep frying

Method

To prepare the batter

Mix rice flour, green pea flour and water into a smooth batter. Strain and set aside.

Heat oil and fry the chopped garlic and shallots until fragrant and lightly browned. Add taro, five-spiced powder and pepper, and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the prepared batter and cook, stirring continuously, over a low heat until batter thickens.

Pour the batter into a greased steaming tray to a height of about 3cm. Steam over high heat for about 40 minutes or until set. Set aside for another 2 hours to cool completely.

To prepare toppings

Heat the oil and fry the dried prawns until aromatic and lightly browned. Put it in the electric blender to process into a coarse floss. Set aside.

Heat oil over a medium to low flame. Fry the shallots until golden and crisp. Remove the shallots from the oil immediately as it will start to burn very fast.

To serve, sprinkle prawn floss and shallot crisps generously on the cooled taro cake. Cut into pieces and serve with chili sauce.