芋粿巧 Sticky savoury taro cakes

After talking to an old school friend from back home about Taiwanese street food, I was hit with a hankering from 芋粿巧 ("o gui kiao" in Taiwanese), a type of savoury sticky taro cake. So I forked out nearly 7 euro for a 600g fresh taro from Thailand at the Asia Market to make some myself. 

Fried sticky savoury taro cakes with sriracha

Ingredients for the filling

500-550g taro, peeled & diced

10 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked & drained

Main ingredients

4 tsp dried shrimp, soaked & drained

2 tbsp tamari

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp five-spice powder, optional
coconut oil, for sautéing

Ingredients for the dough

300g glutinous rice flour
240g rice flour
460ml cold water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar

Instructions

1. Wearing gloves (to avoid irritating the skin), wash and peel the taro. Slice into 1.5cm thickness and dice into cubes.
2. Soak the mushrooms and shrimp for an hour. Drain. Keep the water for later use.
3. Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté the mushrooms and shrimp till fragrant.
   
4. Add in the cubed taro and the soaking liquid and cook till the taro has slightly softened but still hard and the liquid is gone.
   
5. Season and set aside.
6. In a big bowl, mix together the two types of flours, salt, sugar, and oil. Add the water in batches till a dryish dough forms. You may not need all the water. (Generally, glutinous rice: rice: water = 3:2:3.8-4.2.)
   
7. Mix the taro filling with the dough. Add some water if required. A slightly sticky dough will form.
   
8. Prepare 20-25 squares of parchment paper (depending on how big each cake is).
9. Form the mixed dough into small balls and pat flat (or mould into a crescent). Put each cake onto a parchment square.
   
10. Steam the cakes for 20 minutes.
     
    
11. Cakes can be eaten once steamed. Or pan-fried for a crispy crust.
     
    
12. Serve hot with sriracha sauce for a kick.
    
    
    

I went a bit too light with the seasoning for the filling, but the natural fragrance of taro really came through. I was very happy with my first ever attempt at this cake and would gladly make it again.