金瓜糕chinese steamed pumpkin cake

Pumpkin flesh (600 g)
Rice flour (375 g)
Sugar (1 dessertspoon)
Salt (1 tsp)
Hot water (4.5 cups)
Shallots (3 nos)
Dried shrimp (hae bi) (60 g)
Dried shitake mushrooms (3 nos)
Salt (pinch)
Pepper (pinch)
Spring onions (garnish)
Fried shallots (garnish)
Chillies (garnish)

1. Skin & cube the pumpkin, Steam for 10 mins - Mash pumpkin like a puree. If there are minor chunky bits left, its okie.
2. Rough chop the dried shrimp, Slice shallots finely, Diced shitake mushrooms
3. Oil in pan, add shallots, Add dried prawns. Cook till fragrant.
4. Add shitake mushrooms.Salt & pepper, Mix well. Set aside.
5. Flour, sugar, salt in the wok/saucepan. Add hot water SLOWLY, bit by bit while stirring at the same time. Impt: Stove was NOT switched on at this moment.
6. Stir until you get this goo-ey consistency.
7. Dump the pumpkin puree & the shrimp/mushroom mixture into the batter.
8. Switch on LOW flame.Stir till all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
9. Put the mixture into pie trays or even ramekins.
10. Into the steamer for 60 mins.
11. Once its done, set aside to cool first. Garnish with spring onions, chillies & shallots before serving it with chilli sauce.

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Ingredients
700g of pumpkin
250g of rice flour
1 tbsp of corn flour (to make the texture smooth)
750ml of water (this amount of water yields a rather soft texture.  I suggest that you reduce to 650ml)

100g of chicken/pork meat
70g of dried prawn (I find it a little too much, maybe should reduce it to 50g)
1 tsp chicken stock, powered form 
3 dried mushroom (optional)
1 chinese sausage (optional) 

2 tsp of oil
2 cloves garlic

1 tsp Salt 
1 tsp pepper

10 shallots 
1 red chilli
1 stalk of spring onions

Preparation :

1. Soak the dried prawns, mushrooms and chinese sausage for half an hour or until they are soft. (As there's flavour in the water, I did not throw it, instead I used it to make up to the 750ml of water required)
2. Skin and cut the chicken meat into cubes.  You may also mince the meat.
3. Mince the garlic.
4. Skin the pumpkin and cut it into small cubes.

 Method:

1. Steam pumpkin until soft and fork tender.  Lightly mashed half of it.  Set aside.
2. Add water and chicken stock to the sifted rice flour and corn flour.  Stir well until flour is completely dissolved.
3. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium heat. Fry garlic and dried prawns until crisp and fragrant.
4. Add in chicken meat, mushrooms and chinese sausage and stir-fry until it is cooked.
5. Add in pumpkin and continue stir-frying, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Add salt and pepper. 
7. Pour in the rice flour mixture, and stir it till it turns sticky.
8. Pour mixture into a 21cm round cake tin and level the surface with a spatula.  (You may drizzle some oil on the spatula to ease leveling the surface)
9. Steam it over boiling water at medium fire for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
10. Prepare toppings while steaming the cake. Cut shallot into slices and fry it till light brown. Slice the red chillies and spring onions.
11. Remove the cake from the steamer and sprinkle topping ingredients immediately on the hot cake. 
12. Wait for the cake to cool down before cutting into slices and serve.

Notes:

1. If you want your pumpkin cake to look slightly yellowish, mash the pumpkin a little.  
2. The cake can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week. Before serving, heat it up in the microwave oven or steamer. Alternatively, it can be cut into rectangle and pan-fry until light brown. The pan-fried crisped pumpkin cake is utterly delicious. 

Updates - 23/4/15
* Made with one whole pumpkin (weighs about 1600g).
* Double up the rice flour to 500g with 1300ml of water.
* The texture of the cake turned out perfect, just the way I wanted it (neither too soft nor too hard)