Chinese turnip is the same as daikon (Japanese name.) It is a very common ingredients in Chinese cooking. The turnip cake widely eaten all over China, and it is a very popular and accessible dim sum dish in Hong Kong. There are generally 2 traditional forms of the turnip cake. One is a soft version, almost goopy, meant to be eaten fresh out of the steamer with a bit of sweet soy sauce. The other version, which is my favourite, is not as soft but only just firm enough for cutting into slices when chilled and holds up its shape when pan-fried. You can usually find both version in Hong Kong easily. The steamed version is not as common in Toronto.
There’s another version that has become a popular item at many Cantonese-style restaurant: the stir-fried Turnip Cake. It is large cubes of the turnip cake pan fried on all side, then stir fried in flavourful sauces. There’s a Singaporean-inspired version with scrambled eggs, garlic, green onions, pickled radish, diced chicken and shrimps in a chilli sauce. There’s also one with XO sauce.