Yam Cake (O Kuih)

To really enjoy this yummylicious Yam Cake or commonly known as O Kuih, one which is packed with the must-have ingredients of yam, dried prawns, slices of dried mushrooms, chopped garlic and shallots, it has to be one that is home-made. I love the chewy texture and with each mouthful I get to taste all the flavors.  This recipe is adapted from The Informal Chef with some amendments.

Ingredients:

375g yam (peeled and cubed)

60g dried shrimps (washed, soaked and drained)

25g dried mushrooms (washed, soaked and thinly sliced)

3 cloves garlic (chopped)

3 shallots (chopped)

340g rice flour*

40g wheat starch*

850 litre water* (including water from soaking dried shrimps and mushrooms + 2 tsp chicken stock granules) - whisk to mix all the ingredients *

1/5 cup cooking oil (not in picture)

Seasoning:

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp five-spice powder

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp grounded white pepper

Methods:

1. In a heated wok add in the cooking oil, saute shallots and garlic until lightly brown. Add in dried shrimps and mushrooms and continue to stir-fry until fragrant.
2. Add in yam and all the seasoning and fry for one minute.  
3. Give the batter ingredients a stir, pour into the wok and continue to stir until the batter starts to thicken.  When it turns to paste switch off the heat and transfer the yam mixture into a tray for steaming using medium heat for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the mixture has totally set.  
4. Remove from steamer and cover the yam top with a piece of plastic and let it cool. 
5. Take the yam cake out from the steaming tray. 

I serve this Yam Cake in 2 different ways:

(1) Cut the steamed yam cake into your desired sizes, pan-fried in oil and serve with chili sauce

(2) Cut the yam cake into smaller pieces, stir-fried with some oil, chopped garlic, salted radish (chai poh), lightly beaten egg and dash of salt and grounded pepper.