Vietnamese Turnip Cake - Banh Bot Chien (cheat version) - Scruff & Steph (2024)

This Vietnamese turnip cake is an absolute hit in my household. It has a crispy pan fried skin with a gooey centre that is flavoured with Chinese sausage, spring onions and dried shrimp. This recipe is my mum’s cheat version, which is much simpler and quicker then traditional methods. All you will need is a microwave and a big appetite!

There are people in this world who love yum cha (dim sum) and there are those who don’t. I am one who does. I enjoy the whole experience of sharing plates and having a lot of variety to choose from. It makes the meal interactive, interesting and fun.

My personal favourite dishes are turnip cake, har gao (prawn dumpling) and tripe in black bean sauce. Admittedly, I am the only one in the family who really enjoys tripe. The others love their chicken feet and Steph is one of those who loves to claim she is no fan of yum cha at all. Yep, she makes an conscious effort of pointing this out, even though on every occasion, she will be caught stuffing her face!

Why this Recipe?

This turnip cake recipe I am sharing with you guys today is one that my mother has developed. Honestly, in the past I always avoided making this because the traditional method appeared to be hard and time consuming. That was until my mum taught me this lazy method.

By simply replacing the steamer with a microwave, making this at home is now a stress free experience! The original recipe has also been slightly modified, like the amount of turnip used to make it easier to cook and handle. I highly recommend you try this recipe if you love turnip cake and want an easy way of making it.

Getting a Good Crispy Skin on the Turnip Cake

Here are some really good advice to give these turnip cake slices a delicious crispy skin.

• Let the turnip cake cool down completely. This is because when the turnip cake is hot, it is very fragile and is hard to handle. You will often find that it will be nearly impossible to cut cleanly and crumble when frying. So, give it ample time to cool in the fridge!
• Use a non-stick pan. It just makes life so much easier.
• Make sure the pan is hot and there is enough oil. This just ensure that turnip cake won’t not stick and forms a golden crust when frying.
• Give the pan a shake. Once all the slices are in the pan, shake it and watch if there are any pieces that don’t slide. Use an egg flipper to release any pieces that are stuck and put a little more oil underneath them.
• Serve them straight away! Don’t let them sit around and get soft!

More Tips for a Successful Turnip Cake

1. It is very important to shred the white turnip finely. This will make the turnip cake easier to cut and give it a smooth consistency. I usually use a micro plane or a hand grater.
2. When molding the turnip cake into a pancake, use an ample amount of oil on your hands to create a smooth cake top. This is particularly important if you want a nice golden and crispy skin on the cake after pan frying.
3. To avoid the edges of the turnip cake going too hard after cooking, try to make the cake uniformly 1 cm – 1.5 cm thick from the middle to the edge. This is not easy and will take a little bit of practice.
4. It is important to seal the turnip cake with cling wrap before cooking it in the microwave. I usually wrap it twice to stop the steam from escaping and drying out the cake.

Other Yum Cha / Dim Sim Recipes

• Savoury Sticky Rice – Xoi Man (Cheat Version)
• Sweet Red Bean Soup – Hong Dou Tang
• Simple Mango Pudding
• Fried Bread Stick – You Tiao

Show Us Your Creations!

If you try any of our recipes, Steph and I would love to see your creations! Please share it with us on Instagram using #scruffandsteph and @scruffandsteph! We would also appreciate any likes / shares / follows on ourFacebook page, Pinterest and Instagram. Thank you for your support!

– Scruff