Fried carrot cake has always been my favourite breakfast back in Singapore since I was little! My parents would come across what they feel is the best one and either bring me there or buy me a packet to try! Because I use to live in the West, my favourite stall is at Bukit Timah Market and now that I live in the North, my favourite is no doubt the stall from Serangoon Gardens Market! (: In fact, I have a plate of fried carrot cake almost every Sunday after church! If you don’t know, fried carrot cake comes in black and white. My favourite is the black one. The blacker the better!

This is the one from Serangoon Gardens Market. It’s really amazing. Every single bite has got a balance of carrot cake, egg, chye poh, and sweet black sauce! Not too dry and just a tad moist the way I really like! And what’s more? It’s cheap! $2.50 and I will be happily stuffed! hehe

So it’s been on my agenda for almost a year to try and make from scratch, but just never got around to doing it. So since it’s the holidays, I decided to get down to getting it done! Truthfully, I was quite nervous, cause making kueh (of any kind) is not really my forte. That’s probably why it took me over a year to pluck up my courage to make it! But I’m so glad I did! This recipe from Bee @ Rasa Malaysia is delicious! The texture of the kueh is not too soft, so it’s really easy to fry without being all clumped up together!

It does take a little bit of time to get it done, and you have to wait overnight for the carrot cake to cool and chill in the fridge so that it’s much easier to handle and simpler to cut it into smaller pieces. So I recommend that you make the carrot cake a day in advance! It was perfect for me, cause I made it on a Saturday and fried it on Sunday so it just felt like being home and having a plate of delicious fried carrot cake at the markets. (:

 So do you have a favourite hawker food like I do?

Fried Carrot Cake (Adapted from Rasa Malaysia)

For the Carrot Cake

2 medium radish (about 800g), grated finely

50ml water

200g rice flour

250ml water

1/4 tsp salt

Steps :

1) Over a very low flame, steam the grated radish and 50ml of water for about 30 minutes or until the radish turns translucent. Set aside and allow it to cool.

2) Mix the rice flour, water and salt until well combined, making sure there is no lumps.

3) Add the rice flour solution to the cooled grated radish. Stir and mix it well, then pour into a round metal cake tin. The mixture will look like a watery coleslaw. Steam the mixture for 45 minutes on high heat.

4) Leave the carrot cake to cool (best to leave it overnight in the fridge) so that it would firm up and would not stick to the knife when you’re cutting into it.

Fried (black) Carrot Cake (Serves 2)

Half of the steamed carrot cake

3 tbs shallot oil

3-4 tbs chye poh (preserved turnip)

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

 1/2 tsp sambal chilli

2 tsp fish sauce (can add more if needed)

2 tbs thick sweet black sauce

white pepper, to season

2 stalk spring onion, sliced finely

Steps :

1) Cut the steamed carrot cake to small pieces. I do prefer it a little smaller, so that it will crisp up more. In a non-stick pan, add the shallot oil and fry the carrot cake till golden brown and crispy. Have the heat on medium-high.

2) Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and chye poh and fry till fragrant. Add more oil if needed.

3) Add the fish sauce, pepper and sambal. Fry till the carrot cake is well coated.

4) Pour the beaten eggs onto the carrot cake and allow it to set slightly before flipping over. Using the spatula, cut up the pieces and add the thickened sweet black sauce. Fry and mix it well. Add the spring onions and dish up into a bowl.

ENJOY! (:

Mine turned out a little drier than I hope, but was still really delicious! If you love fried carrot cake like I do, do give this a shot! (: If you prefer the white version, just omit the last step! So make the carrot cake today so that you can fry it tmr!