''Chai tow kway'' is a common dish or
dim sum of
Chaoshan cuisine in
Chaoshan, China. It is also popular in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, consisting of
stir-fried cubes of
radish cake. In some places such as Singapore, it is confusingly translated as carrot cake (compare with flour-based
cake
Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...
).
Ingredients
It is made with
radish cake (steamed
rice flour
Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...
, water, and shredded white
daikon), which is then stir-fried with eggs, preserved radish, and other seasonings. The radish cake is often served in large rectangular slabs which are steamed and then later fried whole.
Alternatives to ''chai tow kway'' include those made of
taro
Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...
or solely of rice flour.
The radish cake can also be eaten on its own, either just steamed, or steamed and then pan-fried, as opposed to the steamed then wok-fried with other ingredients in ''chai tow kway''. Both the steamed and pan-fried varieties are commonly served topped with spring onions.
Variations
The versions served by
hawkers in
Johor
Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
and
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, where
Teochew people live, are typically prepared by frying the
daikon cake with chopped preserved
turnip, diced
garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...
, eggs, and Chinese
fish sauce
Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...
in place of
soya sauce. Chopped
spring onion is added just before serving. Northwards (e.g. in
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
), the same dish is darker due to the use of dark soya sauce, and
bean sprout
Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth.
In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...
s are added.
In Singapore, however, it is more commonly cut into pieces and stir fried with
eggs, garlic,
spring onion and occasionally
shrimp
A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...
(both dried and fresh). There are two variants: the "white" version does not use sweet soy sauce, and the radish cake is fried on top of a beaten egg to form a crust; the "black" version uses sweet sauce (molasses), and the egg is simply mixed in with the radish cake.
Cultural importance
The dish is popular in Singapore and Malaysia, enjoyed by Teochews as well as people of various dialects and races, and served in both hawker stalls and upscale Chinese restaurants. It is a much-loved local comfort food in the region, and can be consumed at various times of the day; it goes from being a breakfast dish, to a main lunch dish, to a late-night supper dish. Many public figures are also known to have a fondness for the dish. Notably, the Singaporean politician
Chan Chun Sing declared his love for the dish in one of his speeches, specifying a preference of a particular variant of the dish (the "S$10
XO sauce chye tow kuay"),
as opposed to the one commonly found in hawker centres and coffee shops, thus illustrating the many variations of the dish available in the region.
See also
*
Turnip cake
Turnip cake is a Chinese dim sum dish. The less common name radish cake is more accurate, as Western-style turnips are not used in the dish but rather shredded radish (typically Chinese radish) and plain rice flour. It is traditionally called ...
, a similar variety of
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
dim sum, using the same ''
lobak'' (more commonly known as
daikon) and rice flour
*
Bánh bột chiên
In Vietnamese cuisine, ''bánh bột chiên'' are fried rice flour cakes. It is a Chinese-influenced rice flour based dish, which exists in many versions all over Asia; the Vietnamese version features a special tangy soy sauce on the side, rice f ...
Notes
References
{{Thai cuisine
Dim sum
Teochew cuisine
Malaysian cuisine
Singaporean cuisine
Vegetable dishes
Thai cuisine