Sticky Rice with Chicken
Recreate this dim sum favourite with our Sticky Rice with Chicken Recipe!
Traditionally called lo mai gai, this dish consists of steamed glutinous rice with chicken, Chinese sausage, Chinese mushrooms, dried scallops and sometimes dried shrimp. It is similar to the zongzi dumpling which is glutinous rice with a variation of fillings,
As the name suggests, you’ll find this dish at any dim sim restaurant. You can also find pre-made sticky rice with chicken in the frozen aisles of your local Asian grocery store!
What makes sticky rice with chicken so recognizable is it’s lotus leaf wrap.
The ingredients are all wrapped in a lotus leaf before being placed in a steamer to steam. This keeps the rice soft and moist. Steaming without leaves can create a crispier texture on the outer layers of the rice, but it still tastes great!
In North America, most restaurants will use banana leaves instead. If you can’t get your hands on either, don’t worry! Parchment paper works as a great substitute.
Making this sticky rice with chicken might seem like a daunting task but it’s worth it! You can make big batches, steam them and freeze them for later.
Now let’s get to it!
Sticky Rice with Chicken Recipe
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups short-grain sticky rice
- 4 lotus leaves or 4 sheets of 2-foot-long parchment paper
- Kitchen twine
- 2 tbsp vegetable cooking oil
- 1 sweet Chinese sausage (lap cheong)
- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 thumb ginger
- 2 garlic
- 2 green onions
- ½ pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
Chicken Marinade:
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- ½ tbsp oyster sauce
- Dash of pepper
Instructions:
Preparation:
- Pre-soak the sticky rice for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Tip: Make sure to soak in enough water so that your rice is still damp. This will be approximately 2-3 inches of water above your rice level. - Thinly slice the chicken thighs into small bite-size pieces. Mix the ingredients for the chicken marinade together in a large bowl then add the chopped chicken. Stir them together and make sure the chicken is evenly coated. Let sit and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Place the lotus leaves in a large container and cover them with water. Place a plate on top to make sure the leaves are fully submerged and let soak for an hour.
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in some hot water until they become soft.
- Dice the Chinese sausage (lap cheong) and the rehydrated mushrooms.
- Slice the garlic cloves, thumb of ginger and green onions.
Note: Reserve some of the green onion for garnish later.
Cooking:
- Heat the vegetable oil in a pan on low heat and then add the garlic, ginger and green onion once it becomes hot. Fry for about 1 minute until it becomes aromatic.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and add it to the pan. Stir-fry everything for about 10-15 seconds until the chicken changes colour slightly. Remove the ingredients from the pan and set aside.
- Turn the heat to medium and fry the Chinese sausage (lap cheong) and mushrooms for 1-2 minutes until they become slightly browned.
- Turn off the heat and add the chicken, ginger, garlic and green onion back into the pan. Add in the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and oyster sauce. Mix well.
Assembling and Steaming:
- Drain the lotus leaves and pat dry with paper towels. Lay them out flat on your work surface. If you are using parchment paper, lay each piece flatly on your work surface.
- Place about ½ cup of sticky rice mixture in the center of each lotus leaf.
- Arrange the cooked ingredients on top of each sticky rice mound.
- Scoop another ½ cup of sticky rice directly on top of the rice mounds on each lotus leaf, carefully spreading it out to cover the filling. It’s okay if the rice can’t cover everything.
Note: There’s an easier method if you find this difficult! You can also mix the filling ingredients and the sticky rice together and fill the lotus leave that way as well. - Wrap each lotus-leaf or parchment package by folding edges around filling to form a tight rectangular package. Using kitchen twine, tie up each package.
- Set up the steamer and bring the water to a boil. Arrange the rice packages in the steamer and steam for 1 hour 30 minutes
Note: Make sure to check the water level occasionally, topping up with more boiling water if needed to prevent it from going dry. - After the steaming time is up, unwrap one of the packages and make sure the rice is cooked and the desired softness. If not, wrap the package back up and place it back in the steamer for 5-10 more minutes.
- When they are ready, remove the packages from the steamer and let them cool for 10 minutes. Cut off the twine and serve hot. We hope you enjoy this sticky rice with chicken recipe!
