Recipe: Lo Mai Gai 糯米雞 (Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken and Mushroom)

Lo Mai Gai (糯米雞) is a savoury steamed glutinous rice dish which are commonly found in dim sum restaurants. In Malaysia, they are served in a small stainless steel bowl and then unmoulded tableside onto a plastic plate.

Lo Mai Gai

For us, a good lo mai gai must have sticky, soft and flavorful glutinous rice, moist and juicy chicken and a meaty Chinese mushroom. However, many dim sum restaurants don't do this dish justice as the chicken can sometimes be too tough or the glutinous rice has been oversteamed until mushy. Plus we always struggle to finish the lo mai gai since it is quite filling since we like ordering many other dim sums to eat at the same time.

To make lo mai gai at home is not difficult. With some instructions from my mum, we made these lo mai gai for lunch one day and they turned out great. I have kept it simple and just used chicken and Chinese mushrooms only. For the chicken, we used chicken drumstick and wing as it is much more moist and juicy and can take longer cooking times without going tough. If you look at my ingredients list, you will notice this is also a pork-free recipe so anyone can enjoy this. :)

Cooking times will also vary, depending on how soft and sticky you like your rice. As a rule of thumb, you should steam it for at least 45 minutes on medium heat, then taste the rice - it should feel sticky and moist. When cooking, you should ensure that the glutinous rice in the bowl is covered with the sauce/water to ensure it will cook evenly. In the instructions below, I have given steps on how to serve it in two different ways - you can either steam it in aluminium/heat-resistant small bowls and then unmould it when serving, or steam it in ramekins and serve it straight without unmoulding. The former would be the traditional way of doing it.

Lo Mai Gai 糯米雞 (Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken and Mushroom)
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Makes 6

Ingredients
450g glutinous rice, soaked for 4 hours
1 chicken drumstick, cut into 4 pieces
1 chicken wing, cut into 3 pieces
6 Chinese mushrooms, soaked
2 shallot, finely chopped
2 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp chicken seasoning powder
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
400ml water
4 tbsp cooking oil


For marinating the chicken
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger wine (or Chinese wine)
2 tbsp light soy sauce



1. Marinate the chicken with the salt, ginger wine and soy sauce for at least 1 hour.

2.  In a wok, heat 2 tbsp of oil and add half the garlic and shallots and fry for 1 1/2 minute until fragrant. Add the rice, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes over medium high heat. Remove from heat and place in a bowl.

3. In the same wok, add 2 tbsp of oil and the remaining garlic and shallots and fry for 1 1/2 minutes until fragrant. Add chicken and mushroom and cook for 5 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Season with chicken powder and add water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add dark soy sauce and remove from heat.

4. In a ramekin: To assemble place rice first followed by chicken and mushroom, then cover with the sauce (from cooking the chicken). You should ensure that the rice is covered with the sauce so that it can cook evenly.

In a small bowl (unmould later): To assemble, place mushroom first, followed by chicken and finally rice and the sauce. You should ensure that the rice is covered with the sauce so that it can cook evenly.

5. Steam over medium heat for 30 minutes, then lower to low heat and steam for further 45-60 minutes, or until the rice is sticky and soft. (If you want to speed things up, just steam over medium heat for 45 minutes)

*I am submitting this to this month's Little Thumb's Up "mushroom" event hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.


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