Dim Sum. One of those all-is-right-with-the-world meals, perfect for a weekend morning (also there’s totally this smokin’ hot seating host at the local place we go to in NJ, so there’s that. We suspect he’s the owner’s son, and I’ll probably be married to him at some point. Ha.).
Every time our cousins visit from Buffalo, we have dim sum on the last day of their visit, and we ogle the seating host have a lovely meal before they head home. There are so many awesome little things that we always order, and Lo Mai Gai (cantonese), or steamed sticky rice…lotus…leaf…chicken…thingies (I really actually have no idea what they’re supposed to be called in English, hence the incredibly long name of this post) is one of them. If you’re looking for the little domes of rice you also see on the dim sum carts moving by your table, then check out our Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage recipe!
This dim sum sticky rice making stuff does take some time, but you can make a big batch of these wraps, steam them, and freeze them for later. Another tip: you don’t actually have to use lotus leaves. If you can get them, definitely use them. They add an interesting flavor to the rice as it steams. But we discovered that parchment paper also works really well for this.
Also check out our Roast Chicken w/ Sticky Rice, which is my favorite thing ever. Instead of lotus leaves or parchment paper, the rice gets wrapped in a chicken thigh. An appropriate response would be to go to the store, buy a pack of chicken thighs, and make it for dinner tonight.
OK. Here we go:
For the marinade:
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
- 1 tablespoon very finely chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
You’ll also need:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small chunks
- 4 cups sticky (sweet) rice
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- vegetable oil, for cooking
- 6 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms (we used shiitake and oyster mushrooms)
- 3 cups chopped scallion
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 whole lotus leaves, soaked in warm water for 1 hour, rinsed, stems trimmed, and cut in half (or parchment paper)
In a medium bowl, stir together the marinade ingredients and add the chicken pieces. Stir well and refrigerate. Soak the sticky rice for 2 hours, and drain.
In a large bowl, mix the soaked rice with 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce. Set aside.
Over high heat, add 2 tablespoons oil to your wok. When the wok is smoking slightly, add half the mushrooms.
Stir-fry until they’re browned, tender, and most of the moisture has evaporated. Remove from the wok and set aside. Do the same with the second half of the mushrooms. (Cooking the mushrooms in 2 batches prevents them from getting soggy). Set all the mushrooms aside.
Heat your wok over high heat again with a couple tablespoons oil. Brown the chicken. Add the scallions.
Stir-fry for a minute or so.
Mix in the mushrooms and salt. Stir-fry for a couple minutes to let the flavors meld together.
Mix this chicken mixture with the soaked rice. Now you’re ready to wrap them in the lotus leaves! Brush a small section on one end of each of your 10 leaf halves with a thin layer of oil.
Put about ¾ cup of the mixture on the oiled area.
Wrap each into a rectangle.
Tie tightly with kitchen string.
Continue assembling until all your filling is used up.
Parchment paper also works really well for this if you can’t find the lotus leaves.
Steam for about 90 minutes.
Serve your Lo Mai Gai dim sum sticky rice hot out of the steamer!
You can serve your dim sum sticky rice with a little chili oil or allow them to cool, place into freezer bags, and freeze for later! When you’re ready to eat them, just steam them right out of the freezer for about 30 minutes.
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon five-spice powder
- 1 tablespoon very finely chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small chunks
- 4 cups sticky (sweet) rice
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- oil, for cooking
- 6 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms (we used shiitake and oyster mushrooms)
- 3 cups chopped scallion
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 whole lotus leaves, soaked in warm water for 1 hour, rinsed, stems trimmed, and cut in half (or parchment paper)
- In a medium bowl, stir together the marinade ingredients and add the chicken pieces. Stir well and refrigerate. Soak the sticky rice for 2 hours, drain, and mix with 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce. Set aside.
- Over high heat, add 2 tablespoons oil to your wok. When the wok is smoking slightly, add half the mushrooms and stir-fry until they’re browned, tender, and most of the moisture has evaporated. Remove from the wok and set aside. Do the same with the second half of the mushrooms. (Cooking the mushrooms in 2 batches prevents them from getting soggy). Set all the mushrooms aside.
- Heat your wok over high heat again with a couple tablespoons oil. Brown the chicken. Mix in the mushrooms, scallions, and salt. Stir-fry for a couple minutes to let the flavors meld together.
- Mix this chicken mixture with the soaked rice. Now you’re ready to wrap them in the lotus leaves. Brush a small section on one end of each leaf lightly with oil. Put about ¾ cup of the mixture on the oiled area. Wrap each into a rectangle, tie with kitchen string, and steam for about 90 minutes.
- You can serve with a little chili oil or allow them to cool, place into freezer bags, and freeze for later! When you’re ready to eat them, just steam them right out of the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Tanny says
Can i half the recipe and steam it as one big one? like your steamed ribs with glutinous rice recipe… (i made that 2 weeks ago and the whole family devoured it). Thanks! = D
Judy says
Sure, you can, Tanny. Please adjust the steaming time based on the size and thickness.
Tanny says
Mahalo! ?. Love your site! Aloha!
Jayde says
Hi! I’m going to be trying this recipe this weekend, but I’m hoping to swap out the chicken for Chinese sausage. Would you suggest cooking the sausage before putting it in the rice, or will it cook alright while the rice steams? My grandmother used to make this for me whenever I visited her, but she’s recently passed away and my mother doesn’t know how it’s done.
Bill says
Hi Jayde, The Chinese sausage will cook during the steaming process. No need to precook it. I’m sure you will enjoy it!
Jayde says
Thanks so much! I’m looking foreword to it very much!
Lisa says
Omg! I followed the directions #almost to the tee! I doubled the recipe (big mistake, LOL), added chinese sausage… didn’t saute the scallions (oops) and didn’t have lotus leaves, so I wrapped them in my banana leaves, that I had left over from tamales…. This recipe is AMAZING! “Almost” exactly what I was going for! Thank you so much. I am sure they will be exactly what I want, when I sit down and have a chili-soy dipping sauce, on the side. Perfect recipe!
Judy says
So glad you liked it, Lisa.
Caren says
Hello! I am really looking forward to making this recipe however I don’t eat meat, is there any substitution you can suggest for the chicken?
Thanks!
Judy says
Hi Caren, please try the filling of our vegan shumai: https://thewoksoflife.com/2014/12/sticky-rice-mushroom-shumai-w-homemade-wrappers-vegan/
Brigette says
Oh my!
I made these tonight and they were a success, I’m so pleased. I actually forgot to add the dark soy sauce to the rice before cooking but will not forget that next time.
Thanks for the recipe – I have already given it to my sister to try it too.
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Judy says
Yeahhhh…SUCCESS! Thank you for sharing, Brigette!
Carmen says
I made these and the taste is on point but the rice came out dry on one side and juicy on the other side. I wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed them. Any one have ideas how to make it juicy all around.
Judy says
Hi Carmen, remember to leave space between each bundle so they can cook evenly.
Lucia says
Guys!!! I’m speechless!!!! I made these last night and was incredibly happy with the results that I had to come back on here to leave a comment to say THANK YOU!! This was so amazing, even my mom was thoroughly impressed!!! I took some to my boyfriend’s house and his uncle and aunt (who are pretty picky) said they actually LIKED IT and that it wasn’t just “ok” (which is how the adults in his family usually describe things no matter how great something is… Asian parents.. They can be so hard to please sometimes..hahaha)
Also, I had a lot of rice filing leftover (and didn’t want to wait another hour+ to soak my lotus leaves) so I ended up steaming them separately in a bowl, but when I took them out, they weren’t as good as the ones that were wrapped. I had even covered the dish with a foil to try to prevent it from drying out. I was pretty bummed because they weren’t as chewy as the ones that were wrapped, but tonight I rewrapped the rice in parchment paper and steamed them and can safely report that I salvaged my rice!!! :D Learned my lesson that wrapping it is the best method. Guess I was trying to turn the excess into lo mai fan/sticky rice, but realized after the fact that it’s not the same methodology in cooking .. (oops..)
Thank you again for this awesome recipe! <3 <3 <3 On to the next dim sum dish!! Siu mais or lo bak gos? :P
Judy says
Hahahaha…thank you, Lucia! BTW, I am one of the “Asian parents” that you are talking about, so I understand! We have standards :-)
Lily says
Just made the cured pork belly recipe and I can’t wait to use it. If I was to use a slice of the cured pork instead of chicken in the lo mai gai, do I need to cook the pork first or will it cook up properly as the lo mai gai steams.
Judy says
No need to precook the pork in this case, Lily. It will be cooked in the steaming process.
Victor says
In this recipe, Is it okay to used pork belly And chicken thigh together?
Judy says
Hi Victor, yes you can use both pork belly and chicken thighs together.