With Chinese New Year fast approaching, it’s worth making an effort to get the good vibes flowing with a special dish that symbolises prosperity and good fortune.

Taro cake is a popular dish often served for breakfast, lunch, or as a teatime snack. This particular version, which includes additional toppings like chilli, spring onion and dried shrimp, originates in the Nyonya community, where it is more often known as yam cake/kuih, or “wu tau koh” in Cantonese.

It is commonly seen on family dining tables during the festive season, as the word “cake” sounds like the Chinese word for “high”, thereby symbolising greater success, prosperity and happiness.

This dish is an invitation to join in the festivities, whether you’re hosting a lovely dinner or dropping by a neighbour’s open house – perfect for ringing in the Lunar New Year!

Flavours & pairings

A delicious savoury cake, defined by umami rich mushrooms and an extra hit of flavour from serunding udang for an added twist. Red chillies and spring onions provide fresh contrast, while golden and crisp fried onions bring a textural balance to everything.

Best served with an extra spicy sambal belacan chilli sauce.

Note: this recipe involves a few steps including frying, steaming and cooling before adding the final toppings. Take your time and you’ll be ready with a wonderful dish to share with one and all.

Ingredients

To fry:

• 8-10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 medium shallots, finely sliced
• 5 medium dried mushrooms, rehydrated and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons dried prawns, rehydrated and finely chopped (reserve the residual soaking liquid from the mushrooms and dried prawns)
• 2.5 cups local taro or ubi keladi, cut into approximately 2cm cubes

To steam:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 tablespoons corn flour
• 2 teaspoons five-spice powder
• 3 teaspoons sesame oil

To top:

• 8-10 small shallots, finely sliced into rounds
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimp, rehydrated and blended until fine
• 3 large red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 3 stalks spring onions, finely sliced

Method

• Start by frying the shallots for the final topping. Heat a wok on a low-medium flame, add 1 cup of oil and allow it to come to temperature.
• Fry the shallots until golden, drain on a paper towel, and set aside.
• Remove some of the shallot oil from the wok and set aside for later. Leave 2-3 tablespoons of oil in the wok for frying.

To cook:

• Bring the wok back up to medium heat and add the garlic and shallots, stirring through until fragrant or for 1 minute. Add the rehydrated dried mushrooms and dried prawns (remember to reserve the soaking liquid for later).
• Turn the heat up to medium high, stirring everything together until the mushrooms start to gain a darker brown or golden colour, releasing a greater intensity of umami.
• Add salt, then add the taro and mix everything together well. At this stage, add the residual liquid (approximately 1 cup) from the mushrooms and prawns into the wok, and stir everything through.
• Turn the wok down to medium heat and add another cup of water. Mix everything together and taste for salt.
• Allow to cook gently, for 3-4 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half (do not overcook as the colour will turn).
• In the meantime, mix the rice flour, corn flour and five-spice powder together in a bowl. Add 1 cup of water. Whisk everything together well.
• Pour into the wok and mix together with the taro with sesame oil. Turn the fire off, then transfer the taro mix to a well-oiled square cake tin (use the residual shallot oil set aside earlier for this).
• Flatten the mixture with a spatula, then brush the top with a little more shallot oil.

To steam:

• Move the cake tin to a steamer and cover with a lid. Ensure the water touches the base of the cake tin.
• Steam for approximately 30-60 minutes, or test with a skewer until it comes out clean. Cooking time at this stage can vary.
• Once this is done, remove the cake tin and set aside to cool completely, ideally 4-5 hours.
• In the meantime, prepare the serunding udang, which goes on as a final topping. In a small pan, gently toast the blended dried prawns, stirring throughout, on low-medium heat for about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 teaspoons of oil and keep stirring for 1 more minute until the dried prawns become beautifully golden. Remove and set aside.

To top:

• Cover the taro cake generously with golden fried shallots, chillies, spring onion and serunding udang, ensuring every part of the cake is covered completely.
• Slice into diamond-shaped cakes, serve with a super spicy sambal belacan chilli sauce, and enjoy!

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@theorangesieve serves up recipes from the heart, inspired by travels near and far. It’s all about food that humbly invites you to discover the truth about flavour: the people, the culture and the stories behind them… the kind of food that leaves you with a smile for reasons you can’t quite put your finger on.