Home-Made Lo Mei Kai: Part I -- Classically Steamed

Here’s the recipe for Lo Mei Kai that I promised. Well, it isn’t really a recipe as such -- it’s more a guideline then anything else; everything is highly amenable to inspired or rebellious (whichever you may be feeling at the time) tweaking. I don’t even have exact measurements for any of the ingredients; I always make this purely by feel -- whatever feels right for the moment is just perfect.

This isn’t a difficult dish to put together; it is just somewhat fiddly in that it involves several stages, and each can take a fair bit of time -- not that you have to stand watch over the pot, but you can’t go shopping and leave it to cook itself either; you do have to stick around to give it a little bit of attention every now and again, just so the glutinous rice doesn’t start to feel neglected.

The key to good lo mei kai is of course getting the texture of the glutinous rice (otherwise known as ‘sticky rice’) right. From personal experience, the level of tenderness / chewiness of the rice can vary a fair bit depending on the brand and/or type of glutinous rice used. Not that I know much about the exact science behind this, but I suspect it has to do with, apart from the different varietals of rice, the level of starch in (and by extrapolation the amount of processing of) the rice grains. The thin, long-grained ones that I more often use tend to have a more pronounced “Q-Q” (chewy) bite to them.

Glutinous rice does need to be soaked (after it has been well-rinsed) for a few hours before being cooked. This helps to both cut down the cooking time and to get the right texture. I usually soak mine for around 4 hours or so.

Once sufficiently soaked, drain the rice well.

In a wok or deep skillet, heat a little bit of oil and very briefly sauté some minced garlic (we don’t want them to brown; only to release their aromas into the oil).

Tip in the well-drained rice and toss well to ensure each grain of rice is nicely coated with a little oil.

Season the rice with some light soy sauce, and a pinch of both sugar and salt. Sprinkle a little bit (oh, maybe a few -- 4 or 5 -- tablespoons) of chicken stock -- you don’t want the rice to be wet; it’s only to provide an added nuance of rich flavor. Mix well.

Remove the rice from the wok and loosely spoon into a stainless steel colander, ready for steaming. It’s important that glutinous rice be steamed without any added liquids.

Steam for anywhere between 45 to 90 minutes; the length of time really depends on several things: how long the rice has been soaked for, the type of rice used and the kind of texture you are looking for. Every 20-30 minutes, turn the rice in the colander so that everything cooks evenly, and also just to check if the texture has reached the desired tenderness. Keep in mind that the rice will be cooked for a further 30 minutes together with the chicken later on.

Here’s a close-up look at the freshly steamed glutinous rice.

While the rice is steaming, prepare some chicken and Chinese mushrooms. The latter is optional; I just think they add a nice bit of color, flavor and textural contrast to the chicken and rice.

Normally, I keep a stash of prepped Chinese dried mushrooms in the freezer; there are thus always some mushrooms conveniently at hand and ready to go, which really cuts down the amount of time needed to pull dishes together. Once prepped and frozen, the mushrooms will keep well for a couple of months. To rehydrate the dried mushrooms and to get them to a nicely tender and succulent state, simply rinse the dried mushrooms well and add to a pot of boiling water that has been lightly seasoned with a dash of cooking oil and a pinch of sugar. Gently simmer the mushrooms for about 45 to 90 minutes (depending on the quality of mushrooms used and how tender you like your mushrooms). Drain well; divide into small portions and place in separate freezer bags, ready to be popped into the freezer. And anytime you feel like adding some Chinese mushrooms to a dish, simply pull a bag of the prepped mushrooms from the freezer, defrost, remove the stems, and you’re good to go.

For the lo mai kai, I allow about 3 or 4 mushrooms (depending on their size) per serving. Once the mushrooms have thawed, season with a little oyster sauce and Chinese rice or glutinous rice wine. Arrange the mushrooms, smooth side down, in the bottom of several small bowls.

Top the mushrooms with marinated cubes of skinless chicken thigh meat. [The chicken meat is simply seasoned with some light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese rice or glutinous rice wine, a dash of sesame oil, a pinch of sugar and pepper, and a little bit of cornflour/cornstarch. The latter is just to give the chicken a wonderfully smooth, succulent texture.]

Once the glutinous rice comes out of the steamer, divide the rice evenly among the small bowls.

Cover each bowl with aluminium foil, and steam for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. [This picture is actually of the lo mai kai after it has just come out of the steamer.]

And a closer look… Notice how each grain of rice has maintained its distinct shape and has a smooth shiny sheen; if the grains meld into each other, the rice has been overcooked.

When cooked like this, the rice has a pronounced chewy, sticky texture. For those who, like me, prefer a more tender bite to their glutinous rice: after the 30 minutes of cooking time, remove the foil cover and steam the lo mai kai, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes or so.

To serve: invert the bowls of rice onto plates. The chicken is beautifully tender, moist, succulent and tasty. The mushrooms, having absorbed the juices from the chicken during the steaming, are also richly flavorful. Both make perfect accompaniments to the sticky, chewy rice.

Chow time!

Happy lo mai kai-ing!

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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