← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 450 g Glutinous (sticky) rice
• 3 Dried lotus leaves, soaked and cut in half
• 300 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into 12 pieces
• 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• ¼ tsp White pepper
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, halved
• 2 Chinese sausages (lap cheong), sliced on the angle
• 2 Shallot, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
• ½ tsp Salt

Method

1. Rinse the glutinous rice, cover with plenty of cold water and soak for at least 4 hours or overnight. At the same time, soak the lotus leaves in hot water until pliable and the mushrooms until soft.
2. Mix the chicken with its marinade ingredients. Drain the rice, spread it on a cloth-lined steamer tray and steam over high heat for 30 min, until tender and translucent.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and fry the shallots for 1 minute. Tip in the hot rice with the rice seasonings and toss until evenly brown. Divide into 12 portions.
4. Wipe the lotus leaves dry. Lay a half-leaf smooth side down, put a portion of rice in the middle and flatten it. Top with 2 pieces of chicken, a few slices of sausage and some mushroom, then cover with a second portion of rice.
5. Fold the leaf over the filling like an envelope to make a tight parcel, seam side down. Repeat to make 6 parcels.
6. Steam the parcels over high heat for 40–45 min, topping up the steamer with boiling water as needed, until the chicken is cooked through (75°C / 165°F). Unwrap at the table and eat the rice, not the leaf.

Tips

• Find dried lotus leaves and lap cheong at Chinese grocers; baking paper inside foil works if you cannot get leaves, though you lose the tea-like aroma.
• Cooked parcels freeze well; steam from frozen for 30 minutes.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Made With Lau Taste of Asian Food MyKitchen101en