Fried Carrot Cake (Cai Tao Kueh) | A Singaporean Hawker Classic

Happy National Day! Sharing a video tutorial for the very beloved hawker dish fried carrot cake (cai tao kueh) today. It might seem odd that there is no carrot in this dish, but ‘carrot’ here refers to daikon, known as white carrot in Mandarin. There are two versions - the white version has a slightly crisp texture, while the black variant has a good balance of sweet and salty. I am no cai tao kueh hawker and it is so important to support our hawkers in light of the pandemic, but it is very empowering to make some of these hawker classics at home, especially if you live abroad!
Fried Carrot Cake
Feeds 4, recipe adapted from Kitchen Tigress
For the kueh:
250g daikon, cut into matchsticks
480g water
150g rice flour
12g cornflour
12g wheat starch
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons oil
220g water
Combine white radish and water in a small pot. Take the weight. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered until the radish is soft. Weigh the pot and its contents - the weight should be lowered by 100g. Top up with water or discard excess liquid. Whisk the rest of the ingredients with daikon liquid in a wok. Cook until the batter is creamy. Add cooked radish and continue cooking until it is thick. Transfer to a heatproof dish. Steam over high heat for 40 minutes. Refrigerate overnight and cube.
For the frying:
60g pork lard (or oil)
20g sweet preserved radish
20g salty cai poh, soaked 2-3 minutes and drained
20g peeled garlic, minced
4-6 eggs, beaten
Fish sauce, to taste
Sambal tumis, to taste
Kecap manis, to taste
A small drizzle of dark soy sauce
Spring onions, sliced
Heat wok until smoking. Add lard and steamed kueh. Spread in a single layer that covers the whole pan, while breaking the kueh up with a wooden spatula to your desired preference. Add cai poh and garlic. Fry briefly then toss with the kueh. Add eggs. Stir-fry until semi-cooked then spread the mixture into a flat layer. Cut it up into rectangles with spatula. Flip when golden brown. Add sambal and fish sauce, and serve if you prefer it white. If you like the black version, add kecap manis and dark soy. Top with spring onions and serve with more sambal if desired.

[@dsilvafmy]

Very well Explained & Easy to understand & Prepare. Well done.

[@sgpnoodles]

🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

[@jundaaaaaaaaaa]

Love the recipe. Like your voice also very soothing. Will try and make over the holidays when est is over 🙂👍🏻

[@sgpnoodles]

Thank you!!

[@nicolaistawinoga7566]

At 0:22 and 1:22 you add 480g of water, although the description suggest one of them should be 220g?

[@ironfisto]

I guess this is a simple dish to make at home if you follow the steps, but really hard to master. A good carrot cake really boils down to heat control which requires plenty of practice.

[@sgpnoodles]

Definitely!! Nothing can compare to carrot cake cooked by a hawker who's been cooking it for decades!

[@notest89]

How do you wash the cast iron after all those sauces lol

[@sgpnoodles]

It really isn't difficult at all - not like when making charsiu in a pan hahaha. Just some boiling water does the trick!