Steamed rice cake and veg bowls – Taiwanese-style

Prepare the fillings. I chose a variety of fillings for their different textures. Chewy mushrooms, firm aubergine, crunchy corn with the firm porridgy filling.

Make a mixture of soya sauce and honey, leave the mushrooms in there to soak.

Slice aubergine, salt both sides and allow liquid to draw out on paper towels (this keeps them crisp during steaming).

Remove sweet corn from cob.

Toast cashew nuts.

Grate the marrow … and set aside.

Mix the rice and tapioca flour together, add room temperature water and mix till even.

Place the mixture in a small pot, add warm water, mix with a wooden spoon and slowly bring to heat while stirring.

Mix till a mash potato consistency and immediately remove from heated pot – see here for a short Instagram video.

Assemble your bowls: Coat the inner walls of two glass bowls with peanut oil to prevent them from sticking. Spoon in a layer of the rice/tapioca paste so the walls are covered. Add a few toppings, and spoon in more paste and repeat – just make sure there aren’t any major air bubbles and that you end off with paste on top.

Steam them bad boys for 45 minutes. I used a bamboo steamer on top of a boiling pot of water.

While steaming, prepare the sauce and Taiwanese Cold Cucumber Salad.

Sauce:

Heat a saucepan with some peanut oil, fry the shallots/onions till golden and crispy then lower the heat.

Add soya sauce and red roast it by letting the harsh vinegar cook off for a few seconds, then add honey.

Separately, mix the tapioca flour and water. Pour this into the saucepan while mixing the sauce.

Cucumber salad:

Remove the cucumber core and break into bite-size chunks.

Mix a dash of sesame oil, 4 Tbsps of honey and 3 Tbsps soya sauce and toss the cucumber chunks. You’re welcome to add some chilli sauce here too.

Toast sesame seeds and sprinkle them on top before serving.

After bowls have steamed, allow cooling for 10 minutes so the cake can set. Use a palette knife and slide it between the cake and the bowl and tip them over onto a plate. Smother in sauce, garnish with sliced spring onion and chopped coriander and enjoy.

Reprinted with permission of Butterfingersza. To see more click here.

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