Explainer | What is turnip cake, why is it a Lunar New Year special and what makes a great one?
Lo bak go – turnip cake or radish cake in English – is very popular during the Lunar New Year, but is enjoyed all year round in Hong Kong
Lo bak go – known as “turnip cake” in English or, more accurately, “radish cake” – is a savoury Lunar New Year dish typically made of shredded white radish, rice flour and lap cheong (preserved sausage).
The Hong Kong variation tends to include additional ingredients such as dried scallop and dried shrimp.
The variation in its English name, it has been said, is due to the fact that white radish was not previously common outside Asia, so the dish’s name was slightly lost in translation.
People would prepare lo bak go as a staple food for the family and to share with relatives paying them a festive visit
Even more confusingly, it is sometimes called “carrot cake” in places like Singapore, as carrots share their name with radish in Chinese (lo bak in Cantonese or luo bo in Mandarin).
Radish cake becomes especially popular around Lunar New Year in Hong Kong. This is partly because go (“cake” or “pudding”) is a homophone for “high” in Cantonese, which is auspicious for the Chinese, who like to pray and make offerings for prosperity during this period.
