steamed taro cake ~ highly recommended 蒸芋头糕 ～ 强推

ingredients
250g taro (net weight), cubed
80g rice flour
5g wheat starch (a.k.a. dim sum flour)
7 small chinese mushrooms, soaked till soft and diced (do not throw the water used for soaking)
1 lup cheong (a.k.a. chinese sausage), diced
10g dried shrimp, soaked till soft (do not throw the water used for soaking)
40g dried scallop, soaked till soft and shredded (you can do this with fingers. do not throw the water used for soaking. can be substituted with dried shrimp)
25g fried shallots, coarsely crushed
250ml water (A)
250ml water (B) (water used to soak mushroom, dried shrimp and scallop + normal water = 250ml)

seasoning
1/4 tsp five spice powder
1/4 tsp chicken bouillon powder (optional)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper powder

食材
芋头 250克（净重），切丁
粘米粉 80克
澄面粉 5克（又称点心面粉）
冬菇 7小朵，浸泡至软后切丁（浸泡后的水不要扔）
腊肠 1条，切丁
虾米 10克（浸泡后的水不要扔）
干贝 40克、泡软后用手指压碎（浸泡后的水不要扔。也可用虾米替代）
炸葱头 25克，略捏碎
水 250毫升（A）
水 250毫升（B）（浸冬菇、干贝和虾米的水＋清水＝250毫升）

调味料
五香粉 1/4小匙
鸡粉 1/4小匙（可免）
海盐 1/4小匙
黑胡椒粉 1/4小匙

Directions/做法

fry shallots till golden brown
(i fried a lot of shallots, then measured out 25g to use)
小葱头爆香、炸至金黄色
（我一次过炸了好多，然后称出需用的 25克份量）

drain away oil, leaving a bit (about 2 tbsp) in the frying pan
炒锅沥干油份，锅内流下一点（约 2大匙）葱头油

have all the rest of the ingredients on standby before you start
所有食材事先准备好才不会手忙脚乱哈

in frying pan, add in diced lup cheong and fry till aromatic
炒锅加入腊肠丁

add in diced mushroom. once again fry till aromatic
爆香后加入香菇丁。再次爆香

add in dried shrimp and scallop
加入干贝和虾米

stir fry till well mixed then dish up (**)
炒拌均匀后勺出（＊＊）

in the same wok (without washing), add in 150g cubed taro
炒锅不要洗，直入 150克芋头丁

fry till the taro has soaked up most of the oil in the pan
(you can see the pan looks “less greasy”)
炒至芋头丁将锅中的油份差不多吸干
（照片中可看出炒锅没之前油腻）

dish up and add this to the fried mushroom, shrimps and scallop
勺出，和之前的炒冬菇、虾米和干贝拌匀

in the same pan, add (B) water. seasoning and the remaining diced taro (100g)
同一个炒锅里加入（B）水份、剩余的芋头丁（100克）和调味料

cook till water has boiled and taro is just cooked
煮至水开时沸腾、芋头丁刚开始变软

stir in all the rest of the (**) ingredients and fry to mix
一口气倒入所有（＊＊）食材。炒匀

add in fried shallots, and all seasoning. stir fry till well mixed
加入炸葱头和所有调味料、再次拌匀

whisk rice flour, wheat starch and (A) water together
粘米粉、澄面粉和（A）水份搅拌均匀

pour this into the pan, whilst stirring to mix with the other hand
一只手加入粉浆、另一手不停搅拌

once all liquid is nearly soaked up and turns paste-y, turn off fire
(above picture is shortly before i turned off fire as i got busy frying. the final paste should be drier than above)
水份开始收干并有粘性时立马熄火
（以上照片儿是水份快收干前拍哒。因为之后急着翻炒陷料，忘了拍照。最终的陷料应该比上图还干）

grease mould/cases lightly with shallot oil and spoon in yam paste
level surface and cover loosely with a piece of foil
steam over high heat for 25-30 mins
cool thoroughly then chill overnight before slicing and serving
模具刷上薄薄一层葱头油、勺入芋头陷
表面刮平、略盖上一张锡纸
大火蒸 25-30分钟
待完全冷却后隔夜冷藏再切片享用

Personal notes/温馨小贴士:

– i steamed the yam cakes in 2 round aluminium case ~ W 5 inch x H 2 inch
我用了两个圆形铝质盒～宽 5 x 高 2寸

– remember to fry lup cheong first, followed by mushrooms. this way, the oil from the lup cheong can be absorbed into the mushrooms
切记，必须先炸腊肠再炸冬菇。如此，腊肠的油份和香味儿才可充份被冬菇吸收

– i diced my taro to about the size of one segment of my index finger
我将芋头切成食指三分之一的大小

– if you want to increase filling, batter (flour + water) must increase proportionately for otherwise, the steam cake will fall apart easily (since you do not have enough flour to bind the filling)
如果想增加馅料，粉浆的量也需适当增加；要不然蒸出来的芋头糕会因不够粉浆而易散

– feel free to adjust seasoning according to personal preference
请根据个人口味儿调整调味儿份量