Savory Chinese Turnip Pancakes

The kids in my neighborhood in upstate New York used to make pancakes every Saturday morning for breakfast. My dad recommended we make these savory Chinese turnip pancakes one day.

Pancakes of various Asian or Chinese styles are very popular today…

Pancakes stuffed with scallions, kimchi, or other Asian ingredients are common now, but when I was a kid, my rural neighbors and I believed we’d struck it rich when we discovered scallion pancakes.

One of my favorite uses of Chinese turnips is in this recipe for Chinese turnip pancakes (daikon radish is also okay to use).

These pancakes are a simpler alternative to the Chinese turnip cakes you might have at dim sum.

Including the traditional ingredients of turnip, scallion, and Chinese sausage, baked into cakes.

There is a lot of room for experimentation in making these savory Chinese turnip pancakes. If you’ve got a greatly modified version, share it with us below!

Ingredients:

For The Pancakes:

• 2 scallions
• 1 Chinese sausage
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cups of water
• 1 cup of grated daikon radish
• 1 cup of AP flour
• 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons of dried shrimp
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground white pepper
• vegetable oil

For The Dipping Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of water
• 1 tablespoon of chopped scallion
• 1 teaspoon of honey

Instructions:

1. The dried sausage needs to be rinsed, diced, and kept aside. If you want to use bacon instead, cook it until it’s crisp but still has some chewiness, and then dice it. You can use dried shrimp in place of fresh ones by rinsing them in warm water and then roughly chopping them. Scrubbing and chopping the scallion. You should reserve 1 tablespoon of the scallion for the sauce.
2. First, prepare your turnip/radish by washing and peeling it. Shred one cup.
3. You can make the batter by combining the following ingredients in a mixing bowl: flour, cornstarch, salt, white pepper, egg, water, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds. Stir in the cooked sausage, shrimp, and grated turnip.
4. Prepare the dipping sauce first by mixing all the sauce components in a small dish. Do this before you make the pancakes. This sauce can be used however you like. Add some heat, some sugar, and some black Chinese vinegar for a sour bite, and see what you come up with…
5. Put 1 teaspoon of oil into the pan and heat it over medium heat. Using a measuring cup, pour half a cup of the batter onto the sesame seeds in the pan. Quickly scrape the batter around the pan with a spatula to create a uniform, spherical pancake. Add extra sesame seeds for garnish.
6. Fry the pancake for 3–4 minutes, or until golden brown on one side, in a skillet over medium heat. In order to flatten the pancake, you must flip it over. The pan may need additional oil if the food is sticking to it. After a minute, flip the pancake back over to cook until the other side is golden brown. Incorporate a further minute of cooking time by flipping and roasting the other side. In other words, you’re cooking each side twice. The result is perfectly crispy pancakes.
7. Serve in wedges with your preferred sauce.