Steamed Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients
300g pork belly
1.25 litre water
600g rice flour
2 Tbs corn flour
250ml oil
15 shallots, thinly sliced
50g dried prawns
15 dried mushrooms, soaked till soft and
thinly sliced
1 Tbs soya sauce
600g pumpkin, skin removed and thinly sliced
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 spring onion, coarsely chopped
1 fresh red chilli, coarsely chopped
3 tsp roasted white sesame seeds

Method
1. Scald the pork belly in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes and drain. When cool, slice into thin strips and set aside.

2. To a mixing bowl, add rice flour, corn flour and 750ml of water. Stir well until a smooth mixture forms. Set aside.

3. To a heated wok, add oil and fry the shallots over medium fire until it turns lightly golden. Drain and set aside the shallots. Keep the shallot oil.

4. Using half of the shallot oil, stir-fry the dried prawns for one minute before adding the mushrooms, pork belly and 1/2 Tbs of soya sauce. Fry the mixture for five minutes before setting it aside (above).

5. Use the remaining shallot oil to stir-fry the pumpkin for five minutes before adding 1/2 Tbs of soya sauce, salt and pepper.

6. Cover the wok and continue cooking the pumpkin over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add 500ml of water gradually to the pumpkin as it cooks (above). Stir occasionally and as the pumpkin softens, use a spatula to break it up into smaller pieces.

7. Mash the cooked pumpkin with a spatula until a semi-smooth consistency forms. If you prefer a coarser or smoother texture, adjust accordingly.

8. Add the flour mixture to the mashed pumpkin. Mix well (above).

9. Stir in most of the dried prawns, mushroom and pork belly. Mix well.

10. Pour the mixture into a container (18cm diameter, 6cm deep) and sprinkle the remaining dried prawns, mushroom and pork belly over the surface, taking care to gently press the toppings down onto the cake mixture (above).

11. Steam the cake for one hour until it is firm and cooked through.

12. Garnish the cake with spring onion, chilli, fried shallots and sesame seeds.
Makes three cakes.


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