Glutinous Rice in Lotus leaf | Vegan Chinese recipes | Dim Sum | Lo Mai Gai (荷葉糯米飯)

►How to make Steamed Sticky Rice in Lotus leaf | Vegan Chinese recipes | Dim Sum | Lo Mai Gai (荷葉糯米飯)
It is steamed sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, traditionally with chicken, pork, shrimps, salted egg yolk, mushrooms, etc. It is one of the must-haves when going yum cha. It's so tasty and flavorful, combined with the refreshing earthy scent from lotus leaf. Today I’ll show you how to make an all plant-based version in an easier way step by step, which still tastes exactly the same as the traditional Lo mai gai.

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►Here is my full recipe:

►Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1. 2 cups (400 g) Long grain sticky rice (glutinous rice)
2. 6 Dried shiitake mushrooms
3. 2 (125g) Vegan sausages
4. 100g Vegan Chinese Barbecue pork (vegan cha siu, gluten product)
5. ¾ cup (115g) Canned cooked chickpeas
6. 2+ ½ tsp Dark soy sauce
7. 3 tbsp Light soy sauce
8. 3 tbsp vegan oyster sauce(mushroom sauce)
9. 1 tsp Rice cooking wine
10. ½ tbsp Potato starch (or corn starch)
11. 2+ ½ tbsp Cooking oil
12. 1 tbsp Sesame oil
13. ½ tsp Salt
14. 2 Dried lotus leaves
Instructions:
Step 1.
Find a big container to soak 2 of dried lotus leaves in water for about 1 hour to re-hydrate or until they are soft and pliable. They give a refreshing earthy fragrant flavor to the rice as it steams.Put something heavy on the top to make sure they all dip in water.
Then soak 6 dried shiitake mushrooms in 2 cups of warm water for 1 hour or until they are re-hydrated.
Step 2.
2 cups of long grain sticky rice in a large mixing bowl. Wash it 2-3 times or until the water is clear. This step is for removing the excess starch, which will make your rice lumpy when it cooks. When the water’s clear, drain it and put it into a rice cooker. Add in 1 and half cups of water. The best ratio I found out is 1 cup of sticky rice with 3/4 cup of water. Because you want your rice still be a bit chewy and firm after precooked. This is exactly the same texture you’ll get if you steam it.
Step 3.
100g of vegan Chinese barbecue pork (vegan Cha siu, gluten product). If you don’t have it, just use vegan ham or other marinated vegan meat. Briefly slice it in to smaller pieces. 2 vegan sausages with any flavor any type you like, briefly slice them in the same way. When the mushrooms are rehydrated, take them out and squeeze the water out. Remove the tough root, then slice them into smaller pieces too. Pour the water for soaking shiitake mushrooms through a sieve to get a simple shiitake mushroom broth. Then prepare a starch water. 1/2 tbsp of potato starch or corn starch, 2 tbsp of mushroom broth. mix it well.
Then it comes to the sauce, 2+ ½ tsp of dark soy sauce, 3 tbsp of light soy sauce, 3 tbsp of vegetarian oyster sauce, 1 tsp of rice cooking wine. mix it well.
Step 4.
Precook the filling. 2-1/2 tbsp of oil in a pan/wok. Add in the sliced vegan sausages, fry them on high heat until they turn golden on both sides. Then add in shiitake mushroom and vegan cha siu, cook for about 1-2 mins, then add in the mixed sauce, keep on cooking on high heat for another 2 mins. Then add in 1 cup of shiitake mushroom broth and 3/4 cup of cooked chickpeas, you can also use chestnuts if you have it. Simmer for about 3 mins. Then add in the starch water to thicken the sauce up a bit. At the end, add in ½ tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Then turn the gas off. It should be a little bit saltier than the dishes you usually have, because this is the amount of salt for the whole recipe.
Step 5.
When the sticky rice is ready, take it out when it's hot and put into the filing we prepared. Then mix it up gently with a spatula.
Step 6.
Take the lotus leaves out of the water. Remove the tough root, then cut it in half. So we can wrap 4 big lo mai gai. Then get one quarter of the mixed sticky rice filling in a bowl, gently press it down a little bit to make sure they stick together. If you don’t use lotus leaves, now you can just actually leave the sticky rice mixture in the bowls, cover them with foil wraps and put them all directly in the steamer and steam for half an hour and enjoy it!
But if you use lotus leaves, flip the bowl over the top of the lotus leaf, give the bowl a gentle shake, so that the food can fall onto the leaf. Then wrap it up.
Step 7.
Transfer them all into a steamer, steam them on boiling water for at least half an hour. Make sure there’s enough water for steaming for half an hour.

►For storage:
I usually cook a big batch to save some for later. They can last up to 3 months in the freezer. When you want to have it, steam it for 20-30 mins directly from frozen. It’ll taste just as good. Or keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days. Heat it up in a microwave for 3 mins, then it’ll be ready to enjoy.