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 is one of them.
(I really actually have no idea what they’re supposed to be called in English, hence the incredibly long name of this post).
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 whole 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.
Recipe Instructions
In a medium bowl, stir together the marinade ingredients (light soy sauce, ground white pepper, oyster sauce, five-spice powder, finely chopped ginger, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch) and add the chicken pieces.
Stir well and refrigerate. Soak the sticky (sweet) 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 shiitake 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.
Dim Sum Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Wraps (Lo Mai Gai)
Ingredients
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 ginger (very finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
You'll also need:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into small chunks)
- 4 cups sticky rice (sweet rice)
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- oil (for cooking)
- 6 cups mushrooms (we used shiitake and oyster mushrooms; coarsely chopped)
- 3 cups scallion (chopped)
- 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)
Instructions
- 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.
Making this recipe for a dinner party tomorrow! All of the Asian markets were out of lotus leaves, but one fellow at the market suggested that I use bamboo leaves instead? Since I didn’t see any other option, I went ahead and purchased the bamboo leaves. Is there a way to use bamboo leaves to get the classic Lo Mai Gai square shape, or should I just attempt to make the shape more like Zongzi? Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Hi Hannah, that’s hard since the bamboo leaves are so skinny. But you can use the bamboo leaves like what I did in this short-cut zongzi.
Looking forward to trying this recipe! Questions: is the sticky rice cooked or uncooked when you soak it? Also, could you steam these in an Instant Pot? If so, how would that change the recipe, if at all?
Hi Mae, the rice should be uncooked when soaking. Also, I’m pretty sure you can steam the sticky rice in a instant pot using the steaming setting, although I have not tried it myself.
Made vegan version using this recipe. Simply amazing. It was the only thing my grandad used to make and I have not had it in 30 years. Thanks for sharing.
Hi! Was curious what your go-to dim sum place is in NJ, since you mentioned it in the post?
Hi Erica, this post is pretty old. Now we go to Qin Dynasty on Rt.46 in North Jersey.
I’m curious …I see comments on this thread talking about dried shrimp but I don’t see that on the recipe. Is there another version that assimilated dried shrimp in the mixture?
Really excited to try these! Is there any reason I couldn’t add a chestnut or a salted egg yolk? (Or both!)
Not at all, add them in.
Yum worth the work
Thank you for trying our recipes, LeAnne.
My FAVORITE BLOG of all time! Thank-you for all your hard work.
I’ve made this recipe and its GREAT!!!
Question- i only could find banana leaves at the Asian market… could I use those instead?
For sure, you can.