What dim sum pudding is made of crispy water chestnut?

What dim sum pudding is made of crispy water chestnut? The answer is water chestnut cake.

Water chestnut cake is a sweet Cantonese dim sum dish made with Chinese water chestnuts. The nuts are shredded or chopped and suspended in a starchy mixture that sets into a soft, translucent cake. Before serving, the cake is commonly cut into square slices and pan-fried, producing a lightly crisp surface while keeping the inside tender and springy.

Its Chinese name is 馬蹄糕, pronounced maa tai gou in Cantonese and mǎtí gāo in Mandarin. The literal name means “horse-hoof cake,” a reference to the Cantonese term for the water chestnut rather than to any animal ingredient. The vegetable itself grows in wet environments and remains pleasantly crunchy after cooking.

The dish is associated especially with Guangdong and other Cantonese-speaking regions. Its translucent appearance and embedded pieces of water chestnut help distinguish it from turnip cake, taro cake and red date cake. Although often described as a pudding or cake, it is a savory-service dim sum staple with a distinctly sweet flavor.