sticky rice chicken 糯米鸡

孙佳慧

Come get some dim sum

广式点心糯米鸡，蒸出来的好滋味

In Cantonese-speaking regions， yum cha， literally meaning “drinking tea”， is a very popular type of Chinese-style brunch， typically involving drinking Chinese tea and eating dim sum. And you cant talk about dim sum without talking about sticky rice chicken.

Sticky rice chicken is one of the most popular types of steamed dim sum， beloved by dim sum aficionados all around the world. Though its name makes it seem pretty simple， the dish actually contains a variety of ingredients， including mushrooms， Chinese chestnuts， Chinese sausage， scallions， and sometimes dried shrimp or salted eggs.

As the Chinese saying goes， “Impatient people cant eat hot tofu.” Even if you try a simple version of this dish， its going to take some patience and sophistication. Prepping is the key. The dried lotus leaves need to be soaked in water until theyre soft enough to be used as a flexible wrapper. Similarly， the sticky rice is going to need to be soaked in water for about an hour before being cooked.

After your prep， stir-fry the chicken with the shiitake mushrooms， then you need to wrap the sticky rice and the chicken into a lotus leaf： sticky rice on the bottom， chicken in the middle， and sticky rice on the top. Obviously， not everyones a perfect wrapper at first， so use some toothpicks if you need them. Some folks dont like to take the trouble of having the lotus leaf—steamed sticky rice with chicken is pretty darn good—but honestly， the lotus leaf is the highlight and it adds a whole new refreshing flavor.

Sticky rice chicken is said to have originated at a Guangdong night fair in the 1940s and was served in bowls. Gradually， peddlers began to use lotus leaves instead of bowls because it was more convenient to carry.

The traditional sticky rice chicken serving is a pretty big dish， with as much as 150 to 200 grams of rice in a serving. If youre not that hungry， you can take a page out of one Guangdong restaurants book and make ones half as big， dubbed the “Pearl Chicken”.

Whatever serving you opt for， sticky rice chicken is the perfect dish for an afternoon in the sun with some Chinese tea.

1 lotus leaf 荷葉

1 boneless chicken thigh 无骨鸡腿

200g sticky rice 糯米

2 shiitake mushrooms

香菇

1 clove of garlic 蒜

2 tbsp sliced leek 葱

1 tsp starch 淀粉

0.5 tbsp Shaoxing wine 绍兴酒

0.5 tbsp cooking wine 料酒

0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce 老抽

0.5 tbsp light soy sauce 生抽

0.5 tbsp oyster sauce 耗油

0.5 tsp sesame oil 香油

Salt 鹽

White pepper 白胡椒

Cooking oil 食用油

（Serves 1-2 people）

1. Cut the chicken thigh into small cubes and the shiitake mushrooms into squares. Then mince the leek and the garlic.

2. Season the chicken slices with half a teaspoon of salt， Shaoxing wine， and oyster sauce as well as one teaspoon of starch. Mix well and set aside. Steam the soaked rice for 20 minutes， and set aside to cool.

3. Heat the wok and add oil. Add the garlic and leeks and stir fry until fragrant. Put the mushrooms into the wok and stir fry until aromatic and then add the chicken. Season it with dark sauce， light soy sauce， and cooking wine. Then， add salt and white pepper to taste.

4. Drizzle with sesame oil and transfer them to a plate.

5. Lay the lotus leaf on a flat surface and spread half of the sticky rice on it. Then， spoon some fillings on the layer of rice.

6. Spoon on the remaining rice to cover the filling.

7. Lift the top of the leaf to halfway cover the rice and then fold in the sides to make a sealed parcel.

8. Put the parcel in a steamer for about 10 minutes and serve.