It’s about something squarer, greasier, more desirable and more affordable. If you want iPhone news, read it from someone who cares.
I’m talking about 蘿蔔糕 or lobag gow or luobo ga-o or lo baak gou or just plain glorious twice fried turnip cake.
That’s right folks, I’m talking about Turnip Cake. Right here in East Ocean City. It’s good with tea and it rhymes with
Wait, that’s not what I meant. I meant, I’ve enjoyed this dish for years at all sorts of dim sum houses in Boston and New York and here and there. But I had some in Hong Kong and it knocked my socks off. So much so, I’m going to include the photo a second time.
You see, turnip cake is mostly turnip, with some scallions and bits of chinese sausage or dried shrimp, fried up then steamed then fried again and served with some sauce. Like a potato latke in many ways, greasy and celebratory and filling. The ones I get in the USA are usually about the size and shape of a pack of post-it notes, 3 inches square or so, and frequently underdone in the middle. The better places fry them right on the cart, but they sometimes hurry and undercook them.
In Hong Kong, at a random and nameless place in a mall in Causeway Bay, they take the humble turnip cake seriously. It’s served in small cubes to maximize the crispy fried surface area, tossed together in a nest of taro or something. They’re light on sausage and not very greasy. And there’s a hint of chile heat in there somewhere, making sauce an afterthought. Just amazing. Crispy, starchy, aromatic, and cheap.
Stick a candle in there and call it birthday turnip cake. It’s that good. Go get some this weekend.
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