The sticky rice needs to soak overnight before you assemble the Lo Mai Gai, so you do have to think a bit ahead to make this dish.
But it is so totally worth it!
GET THE STUFF TOGETHER!
(makes 6 -. 8 sticky rice packages)
NOTE: for this dish, you need true sticky rice, also called ‘glutinous rice’ or ‘sweet rice.’ It is not the same as sushi rice. Sushi rice is not as dense, starchy or heavy, and won’t work in this recipe.
For the sticky rice:
2 cups uncooked sticky rice
3-4 dried lotus leaves
vegetable oil
For the sticky rice sauce:
1 teaspoon Chinese Shaoxing wine or Sake
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons vegan oyster sauce (recipe*)
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
¼ teaspoon sugar
For the filling:
¾ cup soaked, drained and thinly diced dried mushrooms (like shiitakes)
1 medium carrot, finely diced
¾ cup seitan, diced fine (perfect recipe here)
2 medium green onions, diced
3 teaspoons coconut oil, divided
1 whole shallot or small red onion, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
MAKE IT!
The Day before…
SOAK THAT RICE !
Submerge the sticky rice in 4 cups of fresh water. Leave on the counter until the next day.
toasted sesame oil
soy sauce
Chinese cooking wine – or use Sake
sugar
homemade vegan ‘oyster’ sauce
finished sticky rice sauce!
Make the sauce!
Combine the sticky rice sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
The day of cooking…
About an hour beforehand:
Prepare the Lotus Leaves
Trim off the ragged edges of the lotus leaf with scissors.
Cut off the hard knobby part at the pointy end and cut the leaf in half. Soak in hot water for about an hour, turning them over halfway through. If needed, you can weigh them down with glasses of water.
Meanwhile…
Make the sticky rice!
Drain sticky rice well and transfer to a large bowl. Do not cook the rice.
Heat a wok to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the seitan or veggie sausage and stir fry until lightly browned. Add shallot/onion, garlic, shiitake mushrooms and carrot and continue to stir fry for another minute or so. If it seems dry, add a little bit of water.
Scrape the filling into the sticky rice, add the sauce and green onions, and stir to combine.
MAKE THE PACKAGES!
Rinse the lotus leaves and gently squeeze out any excess water. Place on a work surface with the curved edge facing away from you. Rub a little oil evenly onto the leaf.
Take a handful of the rice and place it onto the center of a leaf. Sculpt it into a rectangle shape, then pat down.
Fold the tip end of the leaf up over the rice, then fold in the sides. Roll up snugly towards the curved edge to form a rectangular package. Repeat until you have six packets. You may want to use kitchen twine to hold the packages together, although I haven’t found it necessary.
Put each packet, seam side down, in the steamer.
Steam them!
Put the packets seam side down in a steamer and steam for 90 minutes. Check water level regularly, and adding boiling water if needed. The sticky rice is raw, so it needs to be steamed for a long time. To serve, unwrap the lotus leaves and transfer the rice onto a plate.
EAT IT!
Serve with various other dim sum, like Cha Siu Bao (steamed buns with BBQ seitan), Spinach dumplings, or whatever other dim sum you have discovered in your own kitchen. Try not to eat all of them at once because they are very filling, and also, you will love having more for lunch tomorrow.
