Slipping my tiny hand into my grandmother’s wrinkly hand, we made our way down the busy markets to the restaurant. This was our weekly tradition that I could never get enough of. Whiffs of garlic and ginger; sautéed meat, steamed buns drifted in the air welcoming all who entered. My stomach was starting to grumble. The loud chattering, pushing and squeezing pass tables was a characteristic scene in all classic Cantonese dimsum restaurants. It was nothing fancy, nothing expensive… just a way of life. It was a time to enjoy breakfast with family and friends.Wooden bamboo steamers filled with bite sized delicacies of all kinds were piled high and transported quickly in carts across the tiny room.

Holding the pen in the air, my dad would turn to us to ask what we wanted to eat. Without hesitation, I would rattle off the usual list of foods that I wanted. I could never leave the place without enjoying these:

• Siu mai: pork and shrimp filled wonton wrappers
• Har Gow: whole pieces of shrimp in translucent chewy wrapper
• Deep fried crullers wrapped in steamed rice rolls dipped in soy sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onions.
• Char siu bao: steamed buns filled with sweet barbequed pork.
• Ma Lai Gao (馬拉糕): a steamed Brown Sugar Sponge Cake that is so light and fluffy
• Molten lava custard bun: Yes, they serve molten lava custard filled buns at dim sum restaurant! The warm salted egg custard just oozes out as you tear open the bun

The beauty of this meal is that it is made to be shared so that you can enjoy many different dishes. Each morsel, each bite is a unique savory experience of its own.

One favorite dimsum of mine is Lo Mai Gai (糯米鸡). It can be translated to Steamed sticky rice with chicken. Traditionally the rice is stuffed with an array of meat and vegetables like Chinese Sweet Sausage (very fatty and slightly sweet), dried mushrooms, dried shrimp, salted egg, pork belly, chestnuts and chicken. Each ingredient plays a specific role in adding variation of texture or flavor to compliment the delicious rice. Wrapping the rice in lotus leaf also helps to keep it moist as it steams, imparting a fragrant aroma to the rice.  I always loved being able to unwrap my own Lo Mai Gai, it was so exciting being able to use my fingers to carefully pull off the lotus leaves to reveal the delicious treasure inside. Then grabbing a pair of chopsticks, I would try my hardest to eat my rice as gracefully as possible without scorching my tongue from the steam.
Until a week ago, I had no idea you could even make Lo Mai Gai at home. A friend had asked us to test it out for him and of course we couldn’t resist the challenge. It was both an exciting and daunting task – one that not even my parents or grandparents had tried before. Living in a college dorm in the middle of Utah makes access to the right ingredients or appropriate equipment extremely difficult, but we were quite determined. We studied a bunch of recipes and binge watched videos for a whole week just to get a better idea of the process. We combined a few techniques to make it easier, healthier and faster.

After making these 2 days in a row, these are a few tips and tricks that we have found extremely useful:

1. Steamers: if you don’t have a steamer, read below to see our DIY steamer.
2. Lap Cheong is essential and delicious in this recipe. However it is not gluten free. We suggest substituting with honey ham or pancetta – any kind of fatty, sweet meats that you can cube into chunks.
3. Short Cut to cooking Rice: To yield the perfect stickiness, we decided it was best to use a rice cooker. This not only cuts the time of steaming but guarantees the perfect texture. Measure out a ratio of 1: 2/3 cup of rice to water ratio. This sounds kind of bizarre but you only need 2/3 cup of water for every cup of glutinous rice you use. Trust me it works!
4. NO OIL: Most recipes require quite a lot of oil, however we decided because Lap Cheong is very fatty you don’t need any extra oil for frying or sesame oil for fragrance.
5. Seasonings: I have seen many recipes that put a LOT of seasonings into the filling and rice. We have tried our best to add the minimal amount of flavorings for the maximum amount of flavor.
6. Preparing Lotus Leaves: There is no substitute for this. You can purchase this at any Asian grocery store. A lot of recipes require you to soak this for 3 hours or something. To shorten this, we found that by simply rehydrating it in boiling water for 3 minutes to give the same results.

This is very technical recipe. But trust us and follow these steps and tricks. We have made this 2-3 times over the past week (Yes, that means over 20 of these parcels) and I can’t tell you how many people LOVED it. So many of our friends are asking for the recipe saying how much it reminds them of home!

Assembly:

1. Wrapping: Take half a lotus leaf. Place a scoop of rice in the center. Add the filling on top. Add a little more rice. (We had 1/2 cup uncooked glutinous rice per parcel, so we divided the glutinous rice into 8 equal portions).

Now start wrapping! Add the fillings, fold over the sides.

Then roll forwards.

Tuck the end under and let the weight of the parcel hold the seam now.

Get your steamer ready. Steam the lotus leaf parcel for 20 minutes. Serve immediately or set aside for later.

How to Reheat:

Steamer	Steam for 5-10 minutes till warm.
Microwave	Slightly dampen a piece of kitchen paper. Wrap each parcel with the wet paper. Put it on a microwave-safe plate and reheat for 1 minutes till warm.

DIY STEAMER:

Aluminum Foil:

Roll out 3 large balls of aluminum foil. Make sure the foil is sturdy to hold a plate on top. In a wok/pot, measure out enough to water come up half up the foil balls. You want to set aside the foil balls whilst the water comes to the boil (The foil will just move around too much). Lower the fire, space out the foil in a triangular form and place a plate on top. Add your lo mai gai on the plate to steam. Add more water if there is not enough.

Bowl:

Place a small bowl, upside down, at the bottom of a pot. The bottom of the bowl will act as a steaming rack to hold the plate. Fill with water, about half up the sides of the bowl. Then place you plate on top. When the water is boiling, add your lo mai gai on top. You can also place a towel underneath the bowl to ensure it doesn’t slide.

LOVE,

Zoe & Mia

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

24