Recipe - Savory Chicken And Rice In A Lotus Leaf (China)

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/cberg2.zip