Singapore's fried carrot cake contains no carrots and is not a cake, which tells you everything about how much a good nickname can survive. The dish is chai tow kway, and the confusion is one of translation: in the Teochew dialect the word for white radish was loosely rendered as carrot, and the rice flour and radish block it is made from was called a cake. What arrives at the hawker stall is a plate of soft, crusted cubes of radish cake fried with egg, garlic and preserved radish, and it is one of the dishes Singaporeans eat from breakfast right through to supper.

The radish cake itself came with Teochew immigrants from southern China, and Singapore's hawkers turned it into a fried dish in the 1950s and 1960s. Two styles grew up side by side. White carrot cake is fried with light soy or fish sauce until the egg forms a golden crust; black carrot cake is glazed with sweet dark soy sauce until it is sticky and caramelized. Ordering at a stall means choosing a side, and many people settle the question by ordering both.

At home the work is split in two. You steam the radish cake a day ahead so it can firm up in the fridge, then frying takes ten minutes in a large pan. Considering Singapore holds its Grand Prix under lights, a dish that tastes just as right at midnight as it does at breakfast feels entirely in keeping.

The steamed radish cake

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) daikon radish
• 2 cups (480 ml) water
• 1 1/2 cups (240 g) rice flour
• 3 tablespoons (24 g) cornstarch
• 1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) cold water
• 1 teaspoon neutral oil

Method

1. Grease the square pan with the oil and line the base with parchment paper. Set up the steamer: put the rack in the wok or wide pot, add water to come just below the rack, cover and bring to a boil.
2. Put the grated daikon and the 2 cups of water in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then.
3. While the radish cooks, whisk the rice flour, cornstarch, salt and white pepper in the large bowl. Pour in the 1 1/2 cups cold water and whisk until completely smooth.
4. Turn the heat under the radish to low. Whisk the batter again, as the flour settles, and pour it into the saucepan with the radish and its liquid, stirring constantly with a spatula. Keep stirring over low heat for 2 to 4 minutes.
5. Scrape the mixture into the lined pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Set the pan on the steamer rack, cover with the lid, and steam over medium high heat for 45 to 50 minutes, topping up the water with boiling water from the kettle as needed.
6. Lift the pan out carefully with oven mitts and let it cool on the counter for 1 hour. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Frying, white style

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) steamed radish cake
• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) neutral oil or lard
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons (30 g) sweet chai poh (preserved radish)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons red chili paste or sambal
• 1 cup (100 g) bean sprouts
• 3 scallions

Method

1. Run a knife around the chilled cake, turn it out onto the board and peel off the paper. Cut it into 3/4 inch (2 cm) cubes. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the fish sauce, light soy sauce and white pepper.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in the large skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers. Add the cubes in a single layer and leave them alone for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn them with the spatula and fry for another 3 to 4 minutes. They are delicate, so turn them gently in groups rather than stirring.
3. Push the cubes to the sides of the pan. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the center with the garlic and chai poh, and stir them for 30 to 45 seconds. Then toss everything together gently, adding the chili paste now if you are using it.
4. Spread the cubes out evenly in one layer and pour the beaten eggs over the top, tilting the pan so the egg runs into all the gaps. Cook without stirring for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
5. Cut the egg sheet into 4 rough sections with the edge of the spatula and flip each one over. Scatter the bean sprouts around the pan, if using, and fry for 1 minute more. Turn off the heat and scatter over the scallions.

More from Singapore