INTRODUCTION

If you like begedil or perkedil, a Malay potatoes patties, I believed that you will like this quite an uncommon Chinese traditional potatoes cake . In fact, the taste is very close but the texture is slightly different due to different flours being used. If you are looking for a begedil recipe, you can refer to this post..Deep Frying Your Potato Patties ?–Begedil (炸马铃薯饼） 

Many years ago, a Teochew ah ma gave me this kuih and I asked her what is the kuih, she said it is a cake prepared using mashed potatoes. I did not enquire from her further and I thought that the cake was her own creation. It taste something like orh kuih or yam cake with almost the same type of side ingredients and very delicious. I made a presumption that she cannot take yam and that is why she substituted yam with potatoes..

Only last week, I discovered that I am totally wrong. One of the administrator of a Teochew group is sharing some Teochew traditional cuisines and there is a cake made from potatoes. From the description of this traditional cake , it fitted with what the Teochew ah ma had prepared. Immediately, it sparks my interest to blog this traditional cake as it is very delicious and I believed local readers will like the cake.

I am unsure about the exact name of this cake in Chinese, some called it 甘筒糕 and it was recorded that this cake is one of the auspicious cake in the Chaozhou area. 传统潮汕小吃甘筒粿即是马铃薯粿，因为马铃薯在潮州话中称为甘筒。这一传统潮汕小吃最早出自潮州彩塘一带地区，因为那里盛产马铃薯甘筒粿色泽美观、口味鲜美，是一款潮汕人喜爱的传统小吃，蒸熟之后，将略煎至酥硬，口感更佳。(Source:  http://www.paigu.com/a/573927/25827911.html)

I was also rather shocked that a number of  Facebook group members based in Hong Kong knew this kuih. They said that this cake is as auspicious as radish cake (萝卜糕）to the Cantonese. It is a must have during their Chinese New Year. However, they have another name called 薯仔糕。 I have checked their recipes and it is almost the same. It was written : “ 香港近乎絕迹的薯仔糕，是潮州人賀年糕點之一，地位等同廣東人新年的蘿蔔糕及年糕，寓意步步高陞。薯仔糕於潮州當地是很普遍的，當地人會做成長條，如蘿蔔糕一樣，可以蒸，也可煎香食用。(source: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/food/art/20140125/18604307)

This is a modified recipe and I did not include any meat in the dish. Some recipes called for the used of Chinese sausage or pork collar meat or ham. I have however decided to omit it to simplify the recipe. Feel free to add in some minced meat and it will be listed as optional in the recipe. The Hong Kong listed fresh prawns as one of the ingredients but Chinese recipes used dried shrimps. Therefore, there are many local variations due to regional adaptions. However, the main ingredient is mashed potatoes that made the cake unique. This is not my creation, there is really such a kuih in existence, if I have never tasted what is prepared by the Teochew Ah ma, I would not blog this recipe.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: An 3” x 3” x 6” small tray of cake

• 300 grams of potatoes （马铃薯）
• 90 grams of sweet potatoes flour or potatoes flour (地瓜粉 或 太白粉）
• 2 tablespoons of dried shrimps （虾米）
• 1 tablespoon of chopped coriander/spring onion (芫茜碎或青葱碎）
• 1 tablespoon of shredded carrot (萝卜丝）
• 1 tablespoon of diced shitake mushrooms (香菇丁）
• 2 tablespoons of minced pork (肉末） – optional 可免
• 1 tablespoon of minced shallots (小葱头）
• 4 tablespoons of water (estimation only if cake is too dry)

Seasonings

• Dashes of white pepper
• 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of chicken stock powder

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• In a pan, put 1 tablespoon of oil, put minced shallots and diced mushrooms, sauté until fragrant. Add in shredded carrots and dried shrimps, stir fry for 1-2 minutes until the dried shrimps are aromatic. Put dashes of white pepper and off the heat.

• Steam the potatoes until soft. In a big mixing bowl, mash the potatoes together with the sweet potatoes flour until fine. Add in the stir fried dried shrimps above, chopped coriander, fish sauce and chicken stock powder. Stir until well mixed. If it is too dry, add the four tablespoons of water.  At this junction, you may want to taste a bit of the mash potatoes if it suits your taste bud and if there is a need to adjust the seasonings.

• Lightly greased the steaming tin. Transfer the mashed potatoes to the tin, pressed it hard and level it. Steamed for about 20 minutes or until a skewer penetrate into the centre comes out clean. Timing will depend on the thickness of the cake. the thicker it is, the more difficult it is to get cooked.

• Cool completely before cutting into slices. If prefer, pan fry under low heat until the slices are crispy on the exterior.

• Best served with favourite chilli sauce or Teochew sweet sauce.

CONCLUSION

While this kuih is not common, but it is my intention to capture as many dwindling recipe as possible and to me, this is a delicious cake. It tastes very much like a mix of begedil and radish cake. Note that this recipe produce a very small tray, you may want to consider double the recipe to make a reasonable tray. Remember that if it is too dry, gradually add in the water until it forms a paste that can be moulded. In fact, some recipe does not call for steaming in a mould but shape oblong like keropok and steam .

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