Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai with steamed glutinous rice, chicken, mushrooms, scallops, and Chinese sausage wrapped in lotus leaves. A dimsum treat!
Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai Packets
Hor Yip are lotus leaves. You can buy them in the form of dried leaves at the Asian markets. They are huge leaves folded in half and must be washed and boiled to soften before use. Since they are huge, you can either use them to wrap individual packets of food or family sized portions like this Hor Yip Fan (Lotus Leaf Wrapped Rice.
Lotus leaves impart a fragrance to food wrapped in them and are popularly used to wrap rice dishes. The leaves are not eaten and should be discarded.
All is not lost, if you cannot find lotus leaves. You can still make this delicious dish using small bowls as molds like this Lo Mai Gai recipe with a slightly different method of preparation.
A Dimsum Favorite
These glutinous rice packets are an absolute dimsum favorite. At the restaurants, you are unlikely to get so much filling on the inside but at home, you can pack it in. The rehydrated scallop is a luxury not to be missed. 😉
Prepare The Lotus Leaves
The fastest way to prepare dried lotus leaves is to rinse them in a sink filled with water which will also soften them slightly. Handle them with care as the dried leaves can be crisp and may break easily. Then, boil the rinsed leaves in a big pot of water, weighed down with bowls or plates. Remove them from the pot, rinse, and drain. The lotus leaves are actually folded in half. Cut away the hard center where the stalk used to be. By doing this, you will get two pieces of wrapper for each lotus leaf.
Marinade The Chicken
The chicken filling is basically like this Braised Chicken with Dark Soy Sauce and Mushrooms. It is best to marinade the chicken, before it is cooked on the stove for maximum flavor.
Prepare The Dried Scallops and Lap Cheong
While the chicken is marinating, rehydrate the dried scallops and soak the lap cheong (Chinese sausage) so that the casings can be removed. Then, cut them into slices at a diagonal.
Steam The Glutinous Rice For The Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai
The glutinous rice should be soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight beforehand. Then, drain the glutinous rice, season with salt, add water, and steam over rapidly boiling water.
Cook The Filling
While the glutinous rice is steaming, fry the prepared Chinese sausage and cook the black sauce chicken.
Wrapping The Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai
Once the steamed glutinous rice and filling is ready, it is time to wrap them into neat packages. There are of course, different ways of doing this and this is how I do it. Place a prepared lotus leaf on your work surface with the narrow part closest to you. Brush some oil on the at the center of the fan shaped edge and arrange the steamed glutinous rice and filling on that oiled spot.
Fold the fan shaped edge of the lotus leaf over the filling, followed by the right side of the leaf. Fold the left side of the lotus leaf with the edge meeting the left side of the filling. Make another fold on the left side on top of the filling. Now, fold the lotus leaf edge close to you up over the filling and tuck the edge into the middle to create a neat package. Repeat with the 11 portions of remaining ingredients.
Second Round of Steaming
Depending on the size of your steaming rack, you may need to prepare two racks instead of one rack. Place the prepared packets in a single layer in each rack and steam for another 30 minutes. You will notice that the lotus leaves will change color with a slight sheen on it after steaming.
Similar Products Used in Making This Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai
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2 Piece Stainless Steel Stack and Steam Pot Set
18/8 Stainless Steel 11 inch Steamer Pot with Lid, 2-tier
Microplane Gourmet Series Stainless Steel Coarse Grater
Cuisipro Stainless Steel Measuring Cup and Spoon Set
Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai
Ingredients
- 6 dried lotus leaves
- 12 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite size pieces) (225g)
- 2 tbsp Shao Hsing rice wine
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 inch ginger (peeled)
- 4 lap cheong (Chinese sausage)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 6 Chinese mushrooms (soaked for 30 mins, remove stems, and slice caps into thin strips)
- 1 tsp corn starch (mixed with ½ cup/120ml water)
- 12 dried scallops (soaked for 30 minutes to rehydrate, drain)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the glutinous rice
- 4 cups glutinous rice (soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight) (800g)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup water (240ml)
Instructions
- Rinse and soak lotus leaves in the sink. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Remove lotus leaves from sink and transfer them to the pot. Weigh down the leaves with bowls. Place lid over the pot and boil leaves for 10 minutes. Remove, rinse, and drain. Cut off the center of the soften lotus leaves. You will get two wrappers for each lotus leaf.
- Combine chicken, Shao Hsing rice wine, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sesame oil in a bowl. Grate ginger over chicken. Mix well and allow it to marinade for 30 minutes.
- Soak Chinese sausage in a pan of hot water for 10 minutes. Casings should puff up. Remove casings and slice sausage thinly at a diagonal.
- Prepare a steamer and allow water to come to a boil.
- Drain glutinous rice. Place in a deep bowl. Add salt and water. Mix well. Transfer to the prepared steamer, cover with lid, and steam for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, fry prepared Chinese sausage until lightly brown in a medium size pot, about 2 minutes. There is no need to use any oil. Remove sausage, leaving the oil in the pot. Set aside.
- In the same pot, sauté minced garlic until fragrant. Add mushrooms and marinated chicken. Stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, bring to a boil, and let it cook for 3 minutes. Pour in corn starch mixture and allow it to cook for another 2 minutes. Sauce should come to a boil and thicken. Turn off heat, remove, and set aside.
Wrapping Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai
- Place a prepared lotus leaf on a work surface with the narrow edge close to you. Brush some vegetable oil at the center of the fan shaped edge.
- Place a small half portion (out of 12 portions) of the steamed glutinous rice on the oiled portion of the leaf. Then, arrange a portion of cooked chicken, a scallop, a few slices of cooked mushrooms, and a few slices of fried lap cheong on the steamed glutinous rice. Place another small half portion of steamed glutinous rice on the top.
- Fold the fan shaped edge of the lotus leaf over the filling, followed by the right side of the leaf. Fold the left side of the lotus leaf with the edge meeting the left side of the filling. Make another fold on the left side on top of the filling. Now, fold the lotus leaf edge close to you up over the filling and tuck the edge into the middle to create a neat package. Repeat with the 11 portions of remaining ingredients.
- Prepare a steamer with two steaming racks on the stove. Bring water to a boil.
- Place 6 packets of wrapped Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai in each of the steaming racks. Cover the top rack with the lid and steam for 30 minutes.
- When done, remove and serve immediately.
- Uneaten packets may be stored in a container and refrigerated for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, reheat by steaming for 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Hor Yip Lo Mai Gai is delicious eaten with garlic chili sauce or chili crisp. Do give it a try.
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