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Taro Cake is a humble dish made with only a handful of ingredients. It’s a savory side dish that is normally found at Sunday Dim Sum or during your families Chinese New Year celebrations. This recipe suits the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) and Paleo diets.
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5 from 1 vote

Taro Cake

Taro Cake is a humble dish made with only a handful of ingredients. It’s a savory side dish that is normally found at Sunday Dim Sum or during your families Chinese New Year celebrations. This recipe suits the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) and Paleo diets.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 192kcal
Author: Beth Chen

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons Avocado oil plus more for pan-frying and greasing the pans, ghee would be a great substitute (AIP Reintroduction)
  • 3 slices Bacon chopped into small bite size pieces (you can also substitute 4 ounces bacon)
  • ½ cup Shrimp shelled and deveined, roughly chopped
  • 6 Scallions chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 1 1/2 - 2 pounds Taro cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 2 teaspoons Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 3 1/2 cups Bone Broth divided
  • 1 cups Cassava flour

For Serving

  • Coconut Aminos
  • Green Onions sliced

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in wok over medium heat. Add bacon, pan-fry for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, stir-fry for another minute. Add the scallions and taro, and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
  • Season the taro mixture with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon and ginger. Now add 2 cups of broth, making sure all the ingredients are evenly submerged. Cover with the lid, turn the heat down to medium low, and simmer for 8 minutes. Once it’s done cooking (the taro should be breaking down at this point, if not let it cook for a few more minutes) uncover the lid, shut off the heat, and let it cool slightly.
  • In a large bowl, mix the cassava flour, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth together until well combined. Next add the taro mixture (no need to wait for it to cool completely). Mix thoroughly until a cement-like paste forms. Generously oil two small loaf pans, and divide the mixture between the two pans. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan, making sure there are no air pockets in the mixture.
  • Steam the taro cakes in a double decker steamer for 45 minutes. Make sure you start with enough water so the water does not dry out halfway. No double decker steamer? Just steam the two pans in two separate times. If you are using a bamboo steamer, add hot water to your wok every 10 minutes to prevent the water from drying out and burning your bamboo steamer. After 45 minutes, insert a toothpick into the taro cakes; if it comes out clean, then it’s done.
  • Once the taro cakes are cooled completely, you can seal the taro cakes tightly in a ziplock bag and freeze them for later. If you’d like to eat them now, slice into rectangles. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat, and pan fry the slices of taro cake on both sides until golden brown and crispy.
  • Sprinkle with salt and serve. You can put out a little coconut aminos with green onions for dipping, or just eat these plain!

Notes

  • You’ll need two mini loaf pans for this recipe. However, if you have a round cake pan that fits in your steamer, you could use that as well. You won’t just need to cut it into pie pieces instead of slices before frying. This size fits perfectly into my steamer. 
  • If you go all the way through this recipe and the idea of buying two mini loaf pans stops you from making it because you are asking yourself ‘when in the hell am I going to use mini loaf pans again now that I’m AIP and I can’t bake??!’ I’ve got those sad pots and pans that just sit in the back of the pantry and every time you look at them you wonder what made you buy them. That’s not these. I’m working on a coconut and date chewy snack (get the recipe here) that uses those pans. My Tart Cherry and Plum Gummies (get the recipe here) can be adapted and for the pans as well.
  • You’ll also need a steamer. I have a metal one but a more traditional bamboo steamer would work as well. I’m hunting for a steamer basket that would fit an entire fish. If you know where I can get one, let me know!

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 192kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 381mg | Potassium: 612mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 1mg