Water chestnut cake

Step 1: Lightly oil a 20 cm square cake tin and set it in a steamer or a wok with a rack. Fill the wok with water and bring it to the boil.

Step 2: Stir 9 oz water chestnut starch and 3 ¼ cups cold water together in a large bowl until completely smooth, with no lumps left on the bottom. This is the raw batter.

Step 3: Put 9 oz Chinese brown slab sugar or dark brown sugar and 3 ¼ cups water in a pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup comes to a full boil.

Step 4: Add 10 fresh or tinned water chestnuts to the syrup and boil for 1 minute.

Step 5: Stir the raw batter again, as the starch settles fast. Ladle about a third of it into the boiling syrup, stirring constantly over a low heat, until it thickens into a translucent, glossy paste.

Step 6: Take the pan off the heat and pour the hot paste slowly into the remaining raw batter, whisking hard, until smooth and evenly thick like custard. This half-cooked batter keeps the water chestnuts suspended.

Step 7: Pour the batter into the hot tin, smooth the top and cover the wok. Steam over a high heat for 30–35 minutes, until the cake has turned from cloudy beige to translucent amber all the way to the centre.

Step 8: Lift out the tin and cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight, until firm enough to slice cleanly.

Step 9: Turn out the cake and cut into slices 1.5 cm thick with a wet knife.

Step 10: To serve warm, heat 2 tbsp neutral oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and fry the slices for 3–4 minutes per side, until golden with a crisp crust. Serve chilled slices as they are.