Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake) is the deluxe version of Char Koay Kak using homemade radish cake instead of rice cake. Super tasty!
I had some leftover radish and decided to make another batch of Lo Bak Gao for dinner. There was no plan to make Chai Tau Koay until the hubby suggested it. Since I have lots of Chinese chives growing in the greenhouse, I obliged. It was a good opportunity to make this dish with the radish cake already made.
Homemade Chinese Radish Cake
This is a two step recipe which is well worth the effort. I have the Chinese Radish Cake recipe here on the blog and it is easy to make. I suggest making this radish cake ahead of time. This way, the cake will have time to cool so that you can cut it into cubes before cooking this Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake).
Lo Bak Gao Versus Chai Thau Koay
You may ask, “What is the difference between Lo Bak Gao and Chai Tau Koay?” My best explanation is that one is Cantonese and the other a Hokkien way of frying the radish cake. 😉 Also, Lo Bak Gao is more a dim sum favorite, while Chai Thao Koay is a popular street food.
Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake) is very similar to Char Koy Kak (Fried Rice Cake). The only difference is the cubed cake. I have a suspicion that the cubed cake was simplified to cut cost and time. Plain rice cake is a little easier to make without all the extra ingredients. That said, in my humble opinion, radish cake is more tasty.
Also, the word Chai Thau Koay is used mainly in Central and Southern Peninsula Malaysia, while Char Koay Kak is used in Penang and the North. If you prefer to make the Plain Rice Cake, I have you covered. You can also buy rice cake from certain Asian grocery stores but finding it can be a hassle. Here are my two versions of Char Koay Kak – Recipe on left and Recipe on right.
Frying The Radish Cake
The first step to making this dish is to fry the radish cake so that the cubes of cake are lightly brown with a crust. The vendors in Malaysia use a huge round pan to do this. I have a rectangle griddle on my stove and I figured it will be fun to use the griddle instead of a fry pan. This griddle spans two stoves and so it gets really hot. It takes only 8 to 10 minutes to brown the cubes of radish cake. If you use a non-stick fry pan, it may take a little longer, maybe 12 to 15 minutes.
Frying Individual Portions of Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake)
Just like the vendors, push the fried radish cake to one side to make room on the griddle for frying each individual portion. Add a little oil to the griddle to saute the chai poh (pickled radish), garlic, and chili paste. Then push a portion of the fried radish cake over to mix with the sauteed ingredients. Only then did I add the shrimp so that they will not be overcooked.
Adding The Rest Of The Ingredients
Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake) tastes best when the fried radish cake is coated with egg. I also like it with some chives and bean sprouts. Unfortunately, I do not have bean sprouts on hand and so I had to leave that out this time. At this point, season with some soy sauce, salt, and ground pepper and continue to stir fry until the egg is cooked and the cubes of radish cake are coated with egg.
Transfer the cooked Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake) onto a banana leaf lined plate. Of course the banana leaf is optional, but many vendors do that and it is a nice presentation. I found these precut round banana leaf plate liners that are a perfect size for a regular dinner plate.
Homegrown Chinese and Garlic Chives
I planted Chinese chives and garlic chives in one of the raised beds in our Greenhouse and they doing really well. I cut them all down to cook Char Koay Teow before it got cold but they are back and stronger than ever. It is so good to have chives on hand. I cut a handful for this recipe. I can no longer tell which are Chinese chives and which are garlic chives. They both have the same broad, blade-like leaves and they taste the same. Maybe they are the same…
Similar Tools Used in Making This Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake)
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Nonstick Reversible Grill & Griddle Pan, Two Burner Cast Aluminum Griddle, 19.5″ x 10.7″
Cast Iron Rectangular Reversible Grill/Griddle, 9.5-inch x 16.75-inch, Black
Bamboo spatula, set of 2
Metal Spatula Set of 2
Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake)
Ingredients
- 40 oz radish cake (1.15 kg)
- 7 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 oz chai poh / pickled radish (chopped) (30g)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 4 tsp chili paste
- 4 oz shrimp (peeled and deveined) (113g)
- 4 large eggs
- 4 oz Chinese chives (cut into 2-inch lengths) (56g)
- 4 tsp soy sauce
- Salt to taste
- Ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut radish cake into ¾ inch cubes.
- Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil on a griddle. Pan fry cubed radish cake until lightly brown in color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Push browned radish cake to one side of griddle.
- Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil on the cleared side of griddle. Sauté ¼ of the chai poh (pickled radish), ¼ of the garlic, and 1 teaspoon of chili paste for 30 seconds.
- Push ¼ of the fried radish cake towards the sauteed chai poh, garlic, and chili paste. Mix well with a spatula.
- Create a well in the center of the fried radish cake. Add shrimp in the well and let it cook until shrimp turn pink or curl, about 1 to 2 minutes. Push shrimp away from the well.
- Crack an egg into the well. Add ¼ of the chives, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, salt and ground pepper to taste. Stir and toss fried radish cake over the egg and stir fry to combine, about 2 minutes.
- Remove and serve immediately. Repeat with the remaining 3 portions of fried radish cake.
Nutrition
This Chai Thau Koay (Fried Radish Cake) is delicious eaten right out of the griddle. I hope you will give it a try.
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