Lo Mai Gai (Chinese) Sticky Rice and Chicken Steamed in Lotus Leaves

This rice is so good, it has that dry but slightly oily texture of fried rice, but it's steamed!  It's full of marinated chicken, dried shrimps, mushrooms and sausage...  But it has a lot of step.  When I got this book "Gingembre et Citronnelle" ("Ginger and Lemongrass") by Leemei Tan, that one recipe always called me and I would find myself back at that page.  So when I found these HUGE lotus leaves in Chinatown, I knew I had to give it a try!  I hope I looked cool on the bus and metro with my gigantic leaves!  

So here is "Feuilles de lotus garnies au poulet et riz gluant" with all its steps from the book "Gingembre et Citronnelle" by Leemei Tan, translated and simplified as much as I could.

(for 4 people)

Marinade for 600g deboned chicken legs, skin removed and cubed
-1tbsp sugar

-2tbsp light (coloured) soy sauce

-2tbsp dark soy sauce

-1tbsp oyster sauce

-1tbsp sesame oil

-the juice of 2cm peeled and grated ginger, pulp discarded

-1tbsp Shaoxing wine

-1tsp cornstarch

Rice seasoning:

-1/4tsp sea salt

-1tbsp sugar

-1tbsp light soy sauce

-2tbsp dark soy sauce

-1tbsp oyster sauce

-2tbsp sesame oil

-a pinch of black pepper

-500g jasmine rice, soaked for 30 minutes

-30g dried shrimps, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes, drained well

-1tbsp vegetable oil

-120g Chinese sausage or chorizo, cubed

-30g dried mushrooms dried chinese or shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for an hour, water pressed out and chopped roughly

-4 dried lotus leaves

-freshly ground black pepper

Mix everything for the marinade in a bowl, add chicken and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Mix all ingredients for the rice seasoning in a big bowl and add the drained rice, mix well.

In a steamer, spread some parchment paper and the rice over it.  Drizzle 1tsp water over it and cook 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, add another 1 or 2tsp water over the rice and cook for an extra 15 minutes.  Remove from steamer and let it cool.

Meanwhile heat oil on medium-high in a pan and cook sausage for a minute.  Add shrimps and mushrooms and cook 2 minutes.  Add chicken and cook 5 minutes.  Add 3tsp water and cook another couple minutes until the chicken starts to golden, then remove everything from the pan and reserve.

Boil water in a big pan or wok and dip the lotus leaves until soft.  Cool them under cold water and dry them with paper towels.  Cut off hard pieces then cut each leaf in four.  The author says you can use parchment paper instead of lotus leaves, I say if you can find the leaves it's worth it!  The aroma is awesome!

Pile 2 leaves together, and add about two big tbsp of rice and spread a little.  Top with 3tbsp of meat mixture, spread, and top again with 1tbsp rice.  Fold the leaf to make a closed rectangle and tie with kitchen rope.  

Steam the pouches for 20-25 minutes.  From my experience, the pouches keep good before this step a day or two in the fridge, so you can make more and steam them for a quick lunch or dinner!