I’ve been experimenting with a vegan version of sticky rice in lotus leaf (called lo mai gai in Cantonese). It’s very popular at dim sum, although I have yet to come across a veggie one in a restaurant. It usually has chicken and maybe other meats in it. Hence the experiment.
It’s basically sticky rice (which is also known as glutinous or sweet rice) with a savory filling wrapped in a lotus leaf and then steamed. The lotus leaf imparts a fragrant, delicate flavor to the rice. While steaming, it smells a bit like tea.
Lotus leaves are sold dried and can be found at the Asian supermarket. To use, soak in hot water until they become pliable and darker in color. The sticky rice (sweet rice) can also be found at the Asian grocery store. It is not the same as sushi rice; it’s stickier. Above is the brand I always use, I cooked it in my fuzzy logic rice cooker on the sweet rice setting.
Surprisingly easy to make, as it’s mostly just assembly and waiting for things to soak. Well, I wasn’t actually standing there waiting, that would be silly. But it’s well worth the little bit of effort and planning to make this classic dim sum dish.
Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf
Makes 6 dim sum sized packets
2 cups sweet rice (using the measuring cup that came with the rice cooker)
3 dried lotus leaves
Vegetable oil
Filling
4 dried mushrooms, soaked and diced
1 medium carrot, finely diced
3 1/2 ounces vegan sausage (or 1 Tofurky Italian sausage), sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
2 medium green onions, diced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Cooking directions is for use with a rice cooker with a 5.5 cups capacity. Using the inner pot of the rice cooker, rinse the rice in several changes of water until the water is clear. Add enough water to cook the sweet rice as indicated on the inner pot. Let the rice soak in the water for 2 hours before cooking. Cook the rice according to the rice cooker directions.
Trim off the ragged edges of the lotus leaf with kitchen scissors, then 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 and weighting the leaves down if necessary.
Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Heat a wok to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the veggie sausage and stir fry until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and carrot and continue to stir fry for another minute or so, if it seems dry, add a little bit of water. Add the green onions and then the sauce, combine well. Place on a plate and set aside.
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 1/6 of the rice and divide it in 2, place one half onto the lower center of a leaf and work it into a small rectangle shape. Place 1/6 of the filling on the rice, then top with the other rice half and pat down.
Fold the tip end of the leaf up over the rice, then fold in the left and right sides. Roll up towards the curved edge to form a rectangular package. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients to make all 6 packets.
Put the packets seam side down in a steamer and steam for 30 minutes. To serve, unwrap the lotus leaves and transfer the rice onto a plate.
Dim Sum Related Posts
Mock Chicken
Stuffed Tofu Puffs with Chili Garlic Sauce
Chinese 5-Spice Jackfruit with Steamed Buns
Jook
Yuba Rolls
Intriguing! I’ll have to see whether our Asian groceries have lotus leaves. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
My (Chinese) mom loves those things and has made them herself. I’ve never made them, but I’ve gotten frozen veg mai gai from an Asian market. Can’t wait to try my hand at them!
Heikki – Hope you can find the lotus leaves and give it a try.
Stacy – I made it for the first time over the holidays and my dad loved them. He couldn’t stop talking about it. I bet your mom would be impressed if you made them. :-)
These look so good. I’ve never used lotus leaves, or even noticed them at the Asian market! This will be fun to try.
hmmmm, how neat. I’ve never used lotus leaf.
absolutely amazing! you tried to make some when I only dream of hoping to buy.
What a lovely idea! I’ve never cooked with lotus leaves before, but if I can find any, I’ll definitely try this out!
You have some of the most interesting posts! I finally bought a fuzzy logic rice cooker, mostly for our supper club when I need a large amount of rice and to be able to keep it warm for a while, and it works perfectly.
great recipe, i have LOVED sticky rice since i was a little kid but have not had it in forever due to the whole meat filling thing.
absolutely one of my favorite foods of all time.
these are just too awesome! i’ve never heard of mai gai before – it looks and sounds so delicious! next time we’re at our local asian market i’m gonna try and pick up some lotus leaves and veggie oyster sauce so we can make some, too! thanks for sharing your rock’n recipe!
Another reason I need to run to my Asian grocery store! These look fun & easy to make!
This might seem like an overstatement, but… OMG, I think I love you! I think this is one of the few complex food-things I’d actually try and make.
My Grandma only makes a meaty version, and there’s only one place, far out place, I know of in Montreal that makes homemade vegan lo mai gai.
I think I know what I’ll be making/eating on vacation…!
ooo i love this one! i’m definitely going to try this. dim sum (or yum cha as it’s called in australia) is one of my favourite things ever, and these sticky rice parcels were a particular favourite of mine as a kid
I LOVE this dish very much. THANK YOU for sharing this recipe :)
Cheers
Just offhand, Vp2 and Tiengarden in New York City both have vegan versions of this. The Vp2 one is huge with tons of filling, the Tiengarden version are similar to what you’ve made with mushrooms and soy inside. Both very tasty.
These look amazing! I’ve bought a version from the store, but I bet homemade is much better and better for you w/o the msg.
If you wish to not use mock meat, do you think that soem sort of bean… or just a variety of veggies would work just as well?
Carmen – I haven’t tried any without mock meat or tofu. But I would think you can just use a variety of veggies as long as it’s flavorful. If you give it a try, please let me know how it turned out. :-)
I get this at a local asian buffett in Spokane that uses dried mushrooms. They don’t have any other meats in it and it is quite good. I don’t know what sauces they use though.
Can I use banana leaves instead of the lotus leaves?
I haven’t tried it with banana leaves before, but I guessing it would work. The flavor from the leaves would be different though. If you do give it a try, please let me know how it turns out. Thanks! :-)
thx for inspiration
to be exact it should be Nuo Mai Gai i guess