FRIED CARROT CAKE
Fried Carrot Cake or Chai (Chye) Tow Kway (or Kueh) (菜頭粿 in Chinese) is a common Teochew dish in Singapore eaten throughout the day whether at breakfast, lunch, dinner or even supper. It has no carrots inside and is not a cake .
Main ingredient is the white radish (more commonly known as white carrot in Singapore) that is grated and then mixed with rice flour. Together with water, the mixture is stirred while cooking. Then the thick mixture is poured in a round pan and steamed to form the carrot cake.
One can even add, small shrimps, diced Lap Cheong (a smoked pork chinese sausage) or diced mushroom, to give it added texture and taste.
The carrot cake is cut into pieces and stir fried with eggs, diced garlic, spring onion, preserved radish and occasionally dried shrimp. And if you order a larger portion , some hawkers will serve it with prawns too.
You can ordered it fried with or without sweet black sauce. For the one with the sauce , you have to tell the hawker you want it black (pronouced as hei in Chinese) and if you want it without the sweet black sauce tell the hawker you want it white (pronouced as bye in Chinese).
To find out the skill of a hawker selling Fried Carrot Cake, you look at whether the eggs, that is stir fried with carrot cake, is burnt or not. If it is or the yellow of the egg is not bright, forget about it . The best Fried Carrot Cake, nicely fried with eggs, is a visual, gustatory and olfactory treat to anyone. And if you can take spicy food, ask the hawker to put in a small amount of chili .
Made from an old-world recipe that’s been a local favourite for many years, carrot cake consists of cubes of steamed rice flour and white radish (daikon), fried in egg like an omelette and garnished with spring onions, a recipe common to the Teochews in Singapore. It can be served “white” (plain) or “dark” (seasoned with sweet soya sauce), and is perfect for those looking for a quick yet satisfying meal. (warning: this is a gut-busting, artery-clogging dish so go easy on it and have it in moderation.)
The Cantonese variation of the Fried Carrot Cake is usually served with fresh radish, lup cheong (preserved Chinese sausage) and shrimp, in large rectangular slabs that are first steamed then fried whole.
The process of cooking carrot cake is a fun-filled one, with hawkers chopping the omelette-like dish on their hot plates into squares; there’s a lot of clanging sounds, chopping thuds and quite a bit of theatre, so stick around to see your dish being whipped up.
thanks to all the sources : Wikipedia ; SingaporeLifestyle ; YourSingapore ; MakanTime ; and all the other sites and blogs
Main ingredient is the white radish (more commonly known as white carrot in Singapore) that is grated and then mixed with rice flour. Together with water, the mixture is stirred while cooking. Then the thick mixture is poured in a round pan and steamed to form the carrot cake.
One can even add, small shrimps, diced Lap Cheong (a smoked pork chinese sausage) or diced mushroom, to give it added texture and taste.
The carrot cake is cut into pieces and stir fried with eggs, diced garlic, spring onion, preserved radish and occasionally dried shrimp. And if you order a larger portion , some hawkers will serve it with prawns too.
You can ordered it fried with or without sweet black sauce. For the one with the sauce , you have to tell the hawker you want it black (pronouced as hei in Chinese) and if you want it without the sweet black sauce tell the hawker you want it white (pronouced as bye in Chinese).
To find out the skill of a hawker selling Fried Carrot Cake, you look at whether the eggs, that is stir fried with carrot cake, is burnt or not. If it is or the yellow of the egg is not bright, forget about it . The best Fried Carrot Cake, nicely fried with eggs, is a visual, gustatory and olfactory treat to anyone. And if you can take spicy food, ask the hawker to put in a small amount of chili .
Made from an old-world recipe that’s been a local favourite for many years, carrot cake consists of cubes of steamed rice flour and white radish (daikon), fried in egg like an omelette and garnished with spring onions, a recipe common to the Teochews in Singapore. It can be served “white” (plain) or “dark” (seasoned with sweet soya sauce), and is perfect for those looking for a quick yet satisfying meal. (warning: this is a gut-busting, artery-clogging dish so go easy on it and have it in moderation.)
The Cantonese variation of the Fried Carrot Cake is usually served with fresh radish, lup cheong (preserved Chinese sausage) and shrimp, in large rectangular slabs that are first steamed then fried whole.
The process of cooking carrot cake is a fun-filled one, with hawkers chopping the omelette-like dish on their hot plates into squares; there’s a lot of clanging sounds, chopping thuds and quite a bit of theatre, so stick around to see your dish being whipped up.
thanks to all the sources : Wikipedia ; SingaporeLifestyle ; YourSingapore ; MakanTime ; and all the other sites and blogs