There are so many recipes using glutinous rice. Noh Mai Gai or lotus wrapped sticky rice is savory and delicious, filled with chicken, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, mushrooms and green onions. It absorbs a pleasant aroma from steaming inside a lotus leaf and is so satisfying to eat in a warm, comforting, stick-to-your-ribs dim sum kind of way.
Glutinous rice does not contain gluten. It is also called sweet rice but it is not sweet either. It is just a type of rice with a higher starch content that cooks up stickier than other rice.
Noh Mai Gai is much easier to wrap than joongs/zhongzhi. No getting it into that odd triangular shape or worries about the rice bursting out or tying it tight enough. Soak, chop, stir fry, mix together, wrap, steam and enjoy!
Don't worry if you cannot find lotus leaves. It will not get the color and aroma from the leaves but will still taste delicious. Wrap in parchment if you cannot find lotus leaves.
Lotus Wrapped Sticky Rice
Ingredients (makes 6)
3 whole dried lotus leaves, soaked in room temp water for at least 1 hour
2 cups glutinous rice/sweet rice, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
1 Tablespoon dark soy
6-8 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for at least 1 hour, small diced
15-20 dried shrimp
2-3 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 cups), cut into 1/2" pieces
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoon rice wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Chinese sausage, quartered lengthwise and small diced
3-4 green onions, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons oil for brushing on leaves
Directions
Prepare lotus, rice, shrimp and mushrooms. Soak lotus leaves in water for 1 hour. Soak rice in water for 1 hour. Soak mushrooms and dried shrimp in warm water for 1 hour. After 1 hour or so, bring a pot of water up to a boil and boil leaves for 5 minutes. This will help soften and clean leaves. Cut or rip leaves in half to get 6 pieces total. Set aside
Drain rice. Mix in 1 tablespoon of dark soy. Set aside.
Mix together soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, corn starch, salt, ginger, and garlic. Add to chopped chicken and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
Finely chop softened shrimp and shitake mushrooms. Discard any hard stems.
In a wok or a large heavy bottomed skillet, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and heat over medium high heat. When the oil is shimmery, add the marinated chicken and stir quickly for 1 minute. Add chopped Chinese sausage, mushrooms, shrimp and cook 3-4 minutes stirring constantly to incorporate. Turn off heat and add mixture to rice and mix together to evenly distribute.
Place half a leaf on work surface, greener side up. Brush some oil on a 5"x5" spot near the end of the leaf. Place about a cup of mixture on the oiled spot. Fold the end of the leaf up and over the filling. Fold the bottom of the leaf up. Fold the top of the leaf down. Roll the entire packet until you get a nice squarish packet. You can tie it is you like but it isn't necessary. Repeat until all filling and leaves are used. Place lotus wrapped packets into a steamer basket with plenty of water and steam for about an hour and a half or in a pressure cooker for about 45 minutes. Make sure to check water level. Unwrap and enjoy!
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