STICKY R IC E CH ICKEN

BY SUN JIAHUI （孙佳慧）



吃了吗CHI lE MA

STICKY R IC E CH ICKEN

BY SUN JIAHUI （孙佳慧）

Come get some dim sum

广式点心糯米鸡，蒸出来的好滋味

I n 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 can't 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 afcionados 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 can't eat hot tofu.” Even if you try a simple version of this dish， it's going to take some patience and sophistication. Prepping is the key. The dried lotus leaves need to be soaked in water until they're soft enough to be used as a fexible w rapper. Sim ilarly， 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 m idd le， and sticky rice on the top. Obviously， not everyone's a perfect w rapper at f rst， so use some toothpicks if you need them. Some folks don't 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 favor.

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

The traditional sticky rice chicken serving is a pretty big dish， w ith as much as 150 to 200 grams of rice in a serving. If you're not that hungry， you can take a page out of one Guangdong restaurant's 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 荷叶

1 BONElESS CHICKEN THIGH 无骨鸡腿

200gSTICKY 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 w ine 绍兴酒

0.5 tbsp cooking w ine 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 sesam e oil 香油

Sa lt 盐

White pepper 白胡椒

Cooking oil 食用油

（Serves 1-2 peop le）

Cut the chicken thigh into small cubes and the shiitake mushroom s into squares. Then m ince the leek and the garlic.

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 m inutes, and set aside to cool.

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

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

Spoon on the remaining rice to cover the filling.

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

Put the parcel in a steam er for about 10 m inutes and serve.