Bastardized Yam Cake Recipe 

Ingredients

Main goodies:

• One medium yam - find one thats about 4-5 cm in diameter, which yields ~ 300g after the skin & stem are removed. Apparently yams that are lighter for their size have better lecture, and large yams are better than baby ones.

• A wedge of pumpkin - to yield 300g after the skin and seeds are removed

• 170g tin of braised peanuts - drain away the water

Batter ingredients:

• 200 rice flour +20g tapioca flour, dissolve in 500ml (2 cups) of water 

• 1.5 cubes of chicken stock, dissolve in 250 ml (1 cup) of water

This amount of batter yields just enough to coat and bind all the rest of your ingredients - so what you get is a yam cake so full of ingredients which you'd never be able to get from the shops. If you prefer more batter (you get a larger and starchier cake), then use 250g rice flour, 25g tapioca flour dissolved in 750 ml (3 cups) of water, and 2 cubes of chicken stock dissolved in 250 ml (1 cup) of water [yes, its the same volume for the stock mix]

Flavouring ingredients

• Half a cup of dried shrimps soaked & coarsely chopped.
• A few drizzles of sesame oil & some pepper
• 200g minced pork
• 3 tablespoons of chopped garlic
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms - use the thin inexpensive ones, otherwise use fresh mushrooms. The premium flower mushrooms usually need long braising, thus making them unsuitable for this recipe.
• One or two pieces (depending on how much you like the flavour of lap cheong) dried Chinese pork sausage 
• A few sprigs of coriander - finely chopped - I use the whole plant, the roots are the most flavourful , so don't discard the roots.

Garnishing Ingredients:

• A cup of dry garnishing: a mix of dried shallot crisps, chopped fried peanuts, crushed fried ikan bilis (crispy anchovies) and toasted sesame seeds are great
• A cup of green garnishes: fresh coriander leaves, spring onions, de-seeded green chillies - coarsely chopped

Method:

The first thing to do is peel & cube the yam into 1.5cm chunks, then steam it for 30 minutes. Don't be tempted to microwave the yams - I tried this once and somehow the texture aint great - I got leathery yams. The steaming step takes the longest, so while the yam is steaming, you can pour yourself a glass of wine and get busy with other things. Remember to set the timer and check for yam for doneness at about 25 mins. You don't want to overcook them, else you get mushy yams. Once soft, remove from steamer immediately.

Next, peel and cut the pumpkin into 1.5 cm cubes, get them ready in another dish that would fit into your steamer. Once the yams come out of the steamer, the pumpkin goes in. The pumpkin would need about 25 minutes, but please check for doneness at 20 minutes. remove from the steamer immediately once done.

If you're using dried shiitake mushrooms, rinse them, dunk in a bowl of water , cling wrap and nuke in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Then set aside, they should be cool enough to handle in 20 mins, by which time the mushrooms would be nice and soft - remove the woody stems, then coarsely chop - size depends on how much bite your like in your yam cake. If you are using fresh shiitake mushrooms, there is no need to soak them of course.

Next, cut the lap cheong into small pieces, place in between 2 sheets of absorbent kitchen paper towels on a plate & nuke on high in the microwave 1.5 minutes- you will see all the oil rendered. Once cool, dab away excess oil and coarsely chop. You need to chop them a bit cos the lap cheong is quite hard if left in large chunks and your yam cake won't slice well.

Soak the dried prawns in warm water for 5-10 minutes, drain and coarsely chop.

Next prepare your springform pan. I spray with canola then line with baking paper. I also wrap alum foil on the outside to come up all the way to the rim so that steaming water doesn't enter the bottom of the pan. You must prepare your steaming pan before you start to cook the flour mixture.

Next, heat oil in a deep pan. Stirfry garlic in oil till it's just about to brown then add chopped dried shrimp to the pan. Don't rush this part, the dried shrimp needs to sear a bit. Then add the lapcheong, u will see more oil rendered. Then the minced meat & chopped mushrooms. Break up the meat with your spatula till cooked. Add the dissolved chicken stock liquid and simmer for a while to let the mushrooms soften (if you are using dried shiitake mushrooms)

Turn off the heat and let cool for a while. then add the flour liquid mixture, turning well. Don't let the mixture stand when pan is still very hot, otherwise you will get a dense layer forming at the bottom. Adjust seasoning if needed. If you are tasting the batter, it should taste just under-seasoned - as the lapcheong is salty enough. I find that with one and a half cubes of Knorr chicken stock (I use the type with no MSG), there isn't real need to add any more salt. Stir in pepper and sesame oil.

Once you're happy with the taste, turn on a Low flame and stir. Mixture will thicken.  Finally at last step, when the mixture is very thick (like fruit cake batter) add the steamed yam and pumpkin as well as the chopped sprigs of coriander, stirring to ensure the batter coats all your ingredients. If you don't want the yam cake to be too firm, don't allow the mixture to thicken too much before adding the yam etc.

Scoop into prepared pan, level the top with a spoon. Use a chopstick to poke holes all over the cake right to the bottom of the pan to release air pockets trapped in the batter, it is very dense. then re-level. Steam 45-60 mins until a skewer comes out clean) allow to cool completely before slicing. The cake is best prepared the night before he day it's eaten. Keep in the fridge and warm a slice I'm the microwave when u want to eat. Garnish with fried shallots and chopped spring onions before eating. I like to spread a thin layer of Nonya curry paste from a can on top of my slice, pile on the garnishing, then drizzle sweet dark soy sauce all over before tucking in.

The yam cake is good  sliced into 1 cm thick pieces and pan fried in a very hot pan such that the surface is seared and browned to a crisp too.