A:
Pork belly (cut into thin strips) 210 g
Soy sauce 1.5 tbsp
Oil 1.5 tbsp
Dried shrimp 24 g
B:
Rice flour 600 g
Rock salt (table salt) 3 tsp
Caster sugar 3 tbsp
White pepper 1 tsp
Water 525 g
C:
White radish 1230 g
Carrot 75 g
Water 1425 g
D:
Cheng Chi fried shallots 70 g
Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok, break up the pork belly strips and fry with the soy sauce until fragrant, then add the dried shrimp and stir for a while. Set aside.
2. Mix the group B ingredients — rice flour, salt, caster sugar and white pepper — then stir in the water. Set aside.
3. Shred a tenth of the white radish, and shred the carrot as well, for texture and for the look of it.
4. Cut the remaining white radish into chunks and blitz with water in a blender to a purée, keeping a little water back to rinse out what is left in the jug.
5. Put the radish purée, shredded radish, shredded carrot and the rest of the water in a pan. Bring to the boil and cook for another 3–5 minutes, so the shredded radish softens and the mixture is hot enough to gelatinise the batter properly. This step matters.
6. Pour the hot cooked radish and liquid into the batter, stirring into a thick paste, then fold in the fried shallots and the fried pork belly. Pour into a mould lined with cellophane (you can do without it, but the base will stick).
7. Steam over a high heat for at least an hour; when it is cooked it will have risen noticeably. (Keep plenty of water in the steamer so it does not boil dry.)
For a smaller batch in a 10-cup household rice cooker, see