Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat

Cantonese Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice Chicken

Name: Cantonese Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice Chicken
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 400 g glutinous rice; 300 g boneless chicken thigh; 4 dried shiitake mushrooms; 1 Chinese sausage; 20 g dried shrimp; 2 large dried lotus leaves; 10 g ginger; 2 spring onions; 1.5 litres water (for soaking the rice, mushrooms and lotus leaves); 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tsp Shaoxing wine; 1/2 tsp sugar; 1/8 tsp ground white pepper; 1 tsp cornstarch; 1 tbsp light soy sauce (for seasoning the rice); 1 tsp dark soy sauce; 1 tsp sugar (for seasoning the rice); 1 tbsp cooking oil; 200 ml water (for cooking the rice)

荷葉糯米雞

Cantonese Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice Chicken — finished dish

Total time: 105 min
Difficulty: Medium
Servings: 4 servings

Recipe overview

Glutinous rice absorbs the flavour of mushrooms, chicken and Chinese sausage before being wrapped in lotus leaf and steamed until soft and evenly filled.

Ingredients

Main ingredients

400 g glutinous rice
300 g boneless chicken thigh
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 Chinese sausage
20 g dried shrimp
2 large dried lotus leaves
10 g ginger
2 spring onions

Soaking

1.5 litres water (for soaking the rice, mushrooms and lotus leaves)

Chicken marinade

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp cornstarch

Sauce seasoning

1 tbsp light soy sauce (for seasoning the rice)
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar (for seasoning the rice)
1 tbsp cooking oil
200 ml water (for cooking the rice)

Cantonese Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice Chicken — ingredients

Tools

large bowl
colander
chopping board
kitchen knife
mixing bowl
wok
wok spatula
covered steamer wok
kitchen scissors
food thermometer

Steps

Step 1

Soak the rice

Rinse until the water is fairly clear, soak in some of the water for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator, then drain.

Step 2

Soak mushrooms and shrimp

Soak mushrooms and dried shrimp separately in some of the water until soft, squeeze dry, remove mushroom stems and dice.

Step 3

Soften the lotus leaves

Soak leaves in the remaining water, scrub both sides, blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, dry and cut into 4 pieces.

Step 4

Cut and marinate chicken

Cut chicken thigh into 2 cm pieces, mix with all chicken marinade ingredients and marinate for 20 minutes.

Step 5

Cut sausage and aromatics

Thinly slice the sausage, shred the ginger and dice the spring onions; keep separate from mushrooms and shrimp.

Step 6

Fry the filling

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and fry ginger, sausage, mushrooms and shrimp for about 2 minutes.

Step 7

Cook the chicken

Add chicken and stir-fry for about 3 minutes until no longer pink outside but not yet fully cooked; transfer out.

Step 8

Cook the rice

Add drained rice, rice soy sauces, sugar and 200 ml water; stir for about 5 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.

Step 9

Divide the filling

Place one quarter of the rice on each leaf, add one quarter of the chicken filling, then cover with a little rice and spring onion.

Step 10

Fold the parcels

Fold both sides inward, then fold the top and bottom into a tight square parcel; place seam-side down in the steamer.

Step 11

Steam the parcels

Once the water boils strongly, cover and steam over medium-high heat for 35 to 40 minutes, replenishing with boiling water if needed.

Step 12

Check and serve

Open one parcel; chicken must reach 74°C and rice must be fully soft. Steam 5 minutes more if needed, then rest 5 minutes before serving.

Common mistakes

Not soaking the rice long enough, leaving a hard centre.
Folding dry lotus leaves so they split.
Overfilling parcels so they cannot close tightly.
Starting with too little steaming water and letting the wok boil dry.

Tips

Soak the rice fully and stir it until the seasoning water is absorbed. Keep all four parcels similar in size, maintain boiling steam, and check both the thickest chicken piece and the rice centre.