When you order Chinese carrot (chai thow koi) cake from your favourite hawker stall…
*recycled pic*
…rest assured that carrot will be the last thing you can find in that culinary favourite of many. The main ingredient is the Chinese white radish (pek chai thow) or lo bak…which, I understand, is also called Daikon.
My father would not touch it at all as he claims that it will “wash away” all the medicine in the body. But lately, I’ve heard that there are a lot of health benefits that one can derive from eating it and they claim that it can detoxify one’s body system and remove all the unwanted toxins. Well, I guess that makes sense…and certainly confirms my father’s claims that it will flush out all the medication that one has taken.
My missus will cook it as a soup…
…by boiling pork bones for the stock and adding the radish, chopped into chunks, plus salt and msg according to taste. You can add chopped daun sup (Chinese celery, which they say lowers high blood pressure) or spring onions to make it more fragrant or perhaps, you would want to add some fried sliced shallots instead.
According to this website, the Chinese white radish is also known as little ginseng in China. You can click the link to go and read about all the health benefits that it is claimed to have. In the meantime, excuse me while I go and enjoy my soup…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
i just hate radish… hate the smell actually hahaha but the taste is good and i like it when you added it in “Sinigang”…
Yes, strong smell…but nice. They put that in the soup for Taiwan beef noodles also…
Are you familiar with Sinigang? maybe i should post something about it in my blog soon
I just googled. Tamarind soup – we call tamarind asam here, sourish taste.
I like carrot cake! The soup your missus make looks yummy. What do we call white radish here? Any local name? Have a nice day! Cheers!
In Hokkien, “pek chai thow” (translation: white carrot). Same to you…
Oh didnt know its called Daikon haha good learning, day by day. Yeah old folks said the same thing dont touch those white stuff its like the computer *ctrl alt delete* will delete everything from the body (only if you are taking medicine) haha. Always find that there is a great difference in Oriental and Western medical practice. Western med. is whack anything under the sun no ‘kim chooi’ ~ locked up mouth. According to Oriental med. eggs, duck etc are bad & *poisonous* for person just after operation but Western med. says no worry got antibiotics.
There is a lot of truth in traditional medicine and what the old people say – more often than not, based on the yin and the yang – the balance needed for good health and good life.I would go for Chinese traditional or other natural remedies anytime – not so much into western drugs, most of the time, not so effective and yet, there will be all kinds of side effects. Only as the last resort, no choice already.
Dai – big, kon – root .
Geddit?
Ah!!! I see. Hey, yunno Japanese kah? Then I must suggest you to my daughter – add as friend on Facebook. She’s taking Japanese next trimester…so any problem, can consult this sifu!!! 😉
Economy char bee hoon was sold at 10sen per packet during my schooling days and look at the current going price RM1.20 That is in Sibu over here it about RM1.40-RM1.50 per packet. Just fried been hoon maybe add some long beans if you are lucky in certain places. How many % inflation? Phew!
This wasn’t in Sibu lah – in Penang or Prai to be exact – Chai Leng Park
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/on-the-street-where-you-live/
It seems that if you move away from the big towns and cities, things are much cheaper…like at Sg Petani, for example. Sibu – one plate of fried mihun RM3.00 now at the Chinese shops, but I can get the RM1.00 packets at my kuih-muih stall in the kampung here. I think 2 packets = 1 plate, so still affordable.
Love the Daikon & the soup very much. BTW Can wash away any sins bro? If can then drink plenty everyday..”a daikon a day a sin gone away” hahaha..~;).
You have so many sins to wash away kah? Come, confess now…and repent! LOL!!! 😀
Dear father STP..hhhmmm errr haiz sorry cant retrieve any confession from the grey matter…got stuck here, never make any confession before lah so how?.. either its dunno how to say or no sin at all, think its the latter hehe ~;).
Thank goodness, or Father STP would have a heart attack! Alleluia!!! LOL!!! 😀
I love radish…my…this dish looks delicious to me. Finally something I really will love. 😀
Gosh! So all this while, you did not like what you saw? Gee! I’m sure many of the stuff a lot better than…say, Kenny Rogers’ Roasters. Blerk!!!
Yes, after taking vitamins or anything “poe”, do refrain from white carrots …cos it is know to detoxify our bodies..that is why it is good to boil them once awhile.. once a month to “flush” out toxic in our bodies.. 🙂
Yup…my parents take all kinds of medicine for all kinds of ailments – by the dozen! So they cannot eat this as it will render all the medication useless. That’s why they do not eat this at all… I do not take any, so no problem for me. The detoxification will definitely do me good… 😉
Is this kuey kak?? I didn’t know it could be made into soup. Always makan char kuey kak n grow fat nia.
Kuey kak = what we call carrot cake or chai thow koi here. They use the pek chai thow (white radish) to make the cake – like or koi or yam cake…and they use that to fry to make kuey kak. Make you fat? Well, they melt the pork fat to get the lard…and the crunchy brown bits…and they fry the white chai thow koi in that, plus chopped bits of chai thow po (preserved white radish) and eggs. I think it is the lard that will make you fat – the other ingredients should be ok. LOL!!! 😀
Waaa informational !!
So the thing in your soup is pek chai thow (white radish)? Cool!
Yup…what did you think that was? Muahahahaha!!
Wahhhh… so cheap? Here… no way you can get such price!!!
Not here. That was in Prai – Chai Leng Park…
OMG… my kampung. 😦 SOBS!!! Still so cheap meh? I tot now raise liao!
That was November, 2009. Dunno now…
I also seldom eat the radish leh, my mom also taught me it will detoxify the medicine and herbs we had!=_=
So you can take when not on medication of any sort lor. You eat kueh kak/chai thow koi or not? Well, it is made from the same vegetable…so the effects would be the same. You can also find it in Taiwan beef noodles…
No leh… I seldom eat kueh kak/chai thow koi but reckon it tastes not bad if it had sufficient wok heat! I don’t actually take medicine just daily multi vit for breastfeed and Bat Chan(Chinese herbs after menstrual)! 🙂
Dunno whether it will affect vitamin intake. But if you click the link and read the health benefits listed, detoxification is not mentioned – but I’ve heard a lot of people talking about it, that’s all.
So, would it be any good for cancer patients who needs to get rid of toxin build ups?
Dunno about this – you can click the link in the post and read the health benefits. But I do know that daun bumi hempedu will retard the growth of cancer cells – read that in an article on it by the Sarawak Herbal Society. You can google – lots of information there.
Oooo…My whole family love chai thow koi..even my Sam (dog). Those days when we were still living in Malaysia,I would buy packets when I’m too lazy to cook or when Sam decided to be fussy and refused any other kind of food. Malacca’s version is without any taugeh and if you buy from the pasar malam, you can even bring your own eggs from home…lagi murah. I always order mine with chilli, and kasi lagi hitam and I’ll ask the man to mince the chai thow koi into finer pieces with his cooking spatula (don’t know the correct name) so that it will be extra garing.
I’ll also boil my soup like the way your missus does. Sometimes,when pork bone is not available, I’ll used ikan bilis instead and add in lots of white pepper.
Nowadays, I have to make my own chai thow koi..I’ll make lots of trays and freeze and bila teragak mo makan, I’ll fry them. Not exactly as nice as when you buy outside as it lacks wok ‘hei’ but then beggars can’t be choosers, right? Anyway, lobak putih in NZ are dirt cheap. 3 monster looking size only NZ$1.00!!
You make chai thow koi also? My daughter’s favourite! She loves it chow-tar chow-tar (slightly burnt). Hmmmm…now I will insist that she spends her holidays in Auckland with you – then, I will know for sure that she will get to eat all the nice things that she loves so much. My…my…your dog has a better life than me! Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
I love Chinese carrot, we call it “chau koi” with added eggs, make it even nicer. 🙂
Chai koi or chau koi? We call it chai thow koi here…but in the peninsula, up north, they call it kuey kak – dunno why… Lots in Kuching but not in Sibu – except one place – guy from KL, but I suspect he uses yam cake to fry. I heard there’s another one at a different place but I’ve yet to check it out… So far, two places only.
the soup, you add some dried scallop and oyster will taste even nicer.
Yup…or what the Foochows call “meng ngee” – dried cuttlefish, now a small piece over RM10.00. Very sweet, very fragrant…very expensive! 😦
oooh! i like dat soup! very healthy n yums! 😀
Nice…but I prefer to cook bone soup and add the white radish just before serving and eating – otherwise, overcooked…too soft, not nice. Wink! Wink! Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
This clear soup is my favorite! Perhaps I should go out and buy the radish again.
As long as you’re not any medication, shouldn’t be a problem.
Benefits like Ginseng! habislah, eat already ‘bahaya’ ha ha ha!
“Little ginseng”…so little only lah, not big! Muahahahahaha!!! 😀
Oh, so white radish is called Daikon! Learn something new everyday! 😛
Sounds like a Japanese-made camera or lens. Ora car. LOL!!! 😀
White radish soup with pork ribs is one of the “regular” soups that I cook for the family. And I would add carrot to it. Gosh, I didn’t know it helps to detoxify the body system! Since I cook it quite regularly, I wonder if it’s good or bad?! Will it “wash away” all the “pou” stuff or vitamins that we take??
That’s what they say…but as Claire said, have it once a month (or less) to detoxify. Don’t take too often…just in case the claim is true. 😉
I use the radish for soups too, a tamarind soup base
Aha! This must be the Filipino recipe that bluedreamer’s talking about… 🙂
i love white radish soup. Usually i will add some red dates and Sarawak peppercorn, sweet and yummylicious, no need MSG. 🙂
I think all Foochows are familiar with this soup, right? Hehehehehe!!!
ooh i love the radish be it in soup or the chai tow kuih. I think it’s very good especially boiled in soup and not fried!
Me too. I’ve eaten them fried long long ago…either at some chap fan stall or from some tiffin-carrier caterer. Not nice…
I just recently learned to eat white radish. I hated it when I was younger. I don’t know why, but maybe because I just don’t like veggies.
Your information is correct. Radish has many health benefits and one of them is removing toxins, specifically in the stomach and intestines.
Maybe you did not like the smell. I’ve always loved it even when I was young…and I did not know then of the many benefits of eating it.
Maybe not the small.
I was not into veggies when I was a kid.
Not surprised, most kids hate veggies… 😉
Oh…I meant smell, not small
Yup, noted…
i love radish soup very refreshing. my friend used to make it for me, but also add in potato and carrot. they called that abc soup right?
Is that so? Not that I know of… I only know ABC = air batu campur… LOL!!!