Water Chestnut Cake

Water Chestnut Cake (Simplified Chinese: 马蹄糕; Traditional Chinese: 馬蹄糕; Pinyin: Mǎtí gāo) is a Cantonese steamed cake made from water-chestnut flour (马蹄粉) and sugar, set into a translucent amber slab that is sliced and sometimes pan-fried. It appears on Dim Sum carts and in dessert shops. It is not Turnip Cake (萝卜糕), which is savory and made from shredded radish, and not water-chestnut salad or canned water chestnuts alone..

Characteristics

Appearance is glossy translucent amber or light brown with possible diced fresh water chestnut pieces; texture is soft-jiggly when steamed and lightly crisp-edged when pan-fried. Flavor is mildly sweet and fresh.

Ingredients (overview)

Water-chestnut flour, sugar, water; optional diced fresh water chestnuts. Distinct starch base from radish Turnip Cake or taro cakes.

History and culture

Cantonese yum cha and tong sui adjacent snack; English dim sum menus list "water chestnut cake." See Dim Sum, Hong Kong Food, and Put Chai Ko.

Serving and variations

Dim sum plate (steamed or fried slices) or dessert shop sweet. See Dim Sum, Turnip Cake, and Taro Cake.

See also

• Dim Sum
• Turnip Cake
• Taro Cake
• Put Chai Ko
• Hong Kong Food
• Guangdong Food
• List of dishes (A-Z)