Taro Cake (港式芋頭糕）

港式蘿蔔糕是我們每次去吃廣東飲茶必點的一道點心，煎的微焦的外面，滑軟的米糕，再沾點濃稠的醬油膏，十分好喫。唯一美中不足的是，常常覺得内料太少，吃不到蘿蔔味。

K有一次順口問我，要不要帶給我他媽媽做的蘿蔔糕，我馬上回答要,當然要！一面馬上催促他趕快回家，我等著煎蘿蔔糕! K媽媽做的蘿蔔糕，料多，口感實在，真的吃的到蘿蔔絲，味道比外面飲茶餐廳更好。還好我的煎鍋不夠大，不然一定每次直接一次煎一整條，全部吃光光。

最近K爲了做泡菜，買了一袋在來米粉，我就不斷的想要偷用他的在來米粉做蘿蔔糕。K做了幾次泡菜后，發現每次用的在來米粉量不大，鬆口讓我分享，我終于可以自己做，不用綖著臉，逼K去問他媽媽最近有沒有要做蘿蔔糕。

不過天不從人愿，好啦，是我發現家裏沒有蘿蔔，但是有一塊芋頭。貪喫鬼等不及跑去老遠的中國超市買白蘿蔔，馬上改變注意，完全沒有節操，白蘿蔔換成芋頭，芋頭糕我也一樣愛。

雖然自己做芋頭糕有點麻煩，過程有點長，全部材料先切，配料炒香，芋頭要燒，混合后再一起蒸。蒸完已經花了一個半小時。

但做出來的芋頭糕，内料扎實，咬下去每一口都有著米糕混和著芋頭、香菇、香腸的美味，五香粉的香氣，吃的很過癮。

[recipe]
Makes 1 round Taro cake (7.5″ diameter, 2.5″ tall)
Special equipment required: steamer
[ingredients]

• 530g taro
• 1.5 cups hot water (for cooking taro)
• 2 shallots
• 4 dried mushrooms, soaked in water
• 1 Tbsp dried shrimp
• 2 links of Chinese sausage
• 1 tsp 5 spice powder
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 160g rice flour
• 735ml water (for rice flour)
• 1 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp olive oil

[directions]

1. Chop Taro into 1/2″ cubes. Mince shrimp and shallots. Dice Chinese sausage. Squeeze out water from mushrooms, but keep the soaking water. Dice mushrooms.
2. Heat 1 tsp olive in pot large enough to hold all the ingredients and water. Add in Chinese sausage, shallots, mushroom and dried shrimp. Sautee until fragrant and sausage is slightly browned. Remove from pot.
3. Add remaining 1 tsp olive oil and diced Taro to the pot (no need to wash the pot). Stir fry a bit to heat up. Add in 1.5 cups of hot water or enough water to just cover the taro. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
4. While the taro cooks, line the steamer with aluminum foil.
5. Check if the taro is cooked after 10 minutes. Taro should be slightly mushy outside when stirred, and a toothpick can be easily inserted all the way through the taro, but not disintegrating the taro completely. The water should be just about all gone. Add more water and cook a few minutes longer if needed.
6. Stir the cooked sausage, shallots, mushroom and shrimp mixture into the taro. Add all the condiments and stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
7. Add in rice flour and 735ml water. Stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes. The mixture should start to thicken and start looking like a paste.
8. Pour the taro mixture into the steamer lined with aluminum foil.
9. Steam for 1 hour on medium high. Cook until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
10. Remove taro cake from steamer and aluminum foil. Let cool then slice and pan fry on each side until golden.

[/recipe]