Recipe - Savory Chicken And Rice In A Lotus Leaf

8 lg Dried lotus leaves
1 cup Longgrain rice
Three fourths cup Sweet glutinous rice (see
Note)
2 cup Chicken stock
3 Chinese sausages lop
cheong) *
8 Chinese dried black
mushrooms **
2 tablespoon Small dried shrimp ***
1 Whole chicken breast, boned
and skinned
2 tablespoon Soy sauce, plus more for
dipping
1 teaspoon Sugar
One fourth teaspoon White pepper
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

CHICKEN MARINADE
One half teaspoon Grated ginger
2 teaspoon Soy sauce
2 teaspoon Dry vermouth or Shao Hsing
wine
One half teaspoon Sugar
One fourth teaspoon White pepper
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

* cut diagonally into 1inch slices ** soaked in warm water until soft and
pliable (about 30 minutes) *** soaked in warm water for 30 minutes

Foods wrapped in dried lotus leaves become infused with an exotic earthy
flavor. If lotus leaves are not available, you can wrap the rice filling
in oiled parchment. Besides being an unusual appetizer, this dish can be
served as a snack, for lunch, or as a light meal. Note that the first step
must be done the night before. Because lotus leaves vary so much in size,
eight packets may require anywhere from four to ten leaves. (Larger leaves
can be split in half, smaller leaves may need to be overlapped.)

1. The night before, pour boiling water over the lotus leaves and let them
soak for 1 hour. Rinse and squeeze them dry. Mix the long grain and
glutinous rice together in a large bowl. Wash the rice under running cold
water; gently stir and rub the grains between your fingers to loosen all
the excess starch. Continue until the water runs clear. Drain thoroughly.
Mix the rice with the chicken stock in a 2quart saucepan; soak overnight
in the refrigerator.

2. The next day, set the saucepan of rice uncovered over high heat; bring
to a boil. Stir just enough to loosen the rice grains. Reduce the heat to
mediumhigh and boil until the liquid is absorbed, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Put the sausages on top of the rice and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to
low and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat but do not remove the
cover. Let the rice stand for 10 minutes, then, with a wet wooden spoon,
transfer it to a large bowl; set aside.

3. Squeeze the mushrooms dry. Cut off the stems at the base and discard
them; cut the caps in half. Combine the marinade ingredients in a medium
bowl. Cut the chicken breast into 3/4inch chunks and toss it with the
marinade. Add the mushrooms and marinate for 20 minutes. Drain and
coarsely chop the shrimp.

4. In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, and sesame
oil; mix into the cooked rice. Add the chickenmushroom mixture and the
shrimp.

5. Fold a lotus leaf in half and put it on a cutting board. If the middle
stem or edges are tough and hard, trim and discard them. (If the leaves
are small, you may need to over lap halves.) Divide the rice mixture into
8 portions; place one portion in the center of a leaf half. Fold the edges
over the rice to make a 4inch square packet. Tie it with twine. Repeat
with the remaining leaves and rice. Arrange the packets in a single layer
in a bamboo steaming basket.

6. Prepare a wok for steaming. Steam the packets over mediumhigh heat
for 20 minutes. Remove them from the steamer and cut each packet across
the top to expose its contents. Serve with small dishes of soy sauce for
dipping.

NOTE: Sweet glutinous rice is also known as "sticky rice" because when it
is cooked it becomes sticky. It is used to make poultry stuffing and
leafwrapped rice packages; it is called sweet rice because it is often
used to make sweet dishes. Soak it overnight before cooking for the best
results.

Makes 8 packets.

From "Asian Appetizers" by Joyce Jue, Harlow and Ratner, 1991. ISBN
0962734519.

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; December 6 1992.

File ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/mmdja006.zip