Labanos Cake

In a large bowl, combine rice flour, cornstarch, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, water, then season with salt and pepper. Whisk into a smooth loose batter, making sure that everything is completely combined and dissolved with no lumps. Set aside.

In a large pan or wok, add oil, onions, and garlic. Turn on heat to low and gently fry the onions and garlic until crispy. Fish out the crispy aromatics.

In the same oil and pan, saute the hibe, chorizo, and shrimp for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

 Add labanos and liquid from soaking hibe. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir continuously on medium heat until the radish becomes translucent. Remove from heat.

Pour 1/3 of the starch mixture into the still-hot labanos mixture, mixing immediately to make sure everything gets coated as the mixture starts to thicken and becomes sticky. Keep mixing until there is no more running liquid in the pan. Pour another 1/3 of the mixture and repeat this step until all the starch mixture has been added and you have a thick, almost like pancake batter mixture coating everything well and not running off.

Mix in the crispy aromatics until well combined.

Place the mixture into a baking pan that fits into the steamer and lined with parchment paper. Level out the mixture by gently shaking and tapping it.

Place the baking pan onto the steamer rack and cover. Bring the water to a boil on high heat then lower to low. Steam for about 40 minutes – 1 hour. Turn off heat and let it cool completely. Then let it set in the refrigerator overnight.

Cut into preferred size and place onto a pan with oil and pan-fry on low heat. Fry each side for  3 – 4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain any excess oil on paper towels.