Lo Mai Fan Recipes

CRISPY CHINESE STICKY RICE (LO MAI FAN)

Steps:

• Soak the rice for a minimum of 4 hours. Preferably overnight
• Soak the shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimp in hot water for 30 minutes
• Finely chop the green onions and set aside
• Set the stove to medium heat
• In a steamer, add in the rice, dried shrimp and Chinese sausage and steam it for 30 minutes. (Important, make sure you have enough water in the steamer so it doesn't go dry within that 30 minutes, but don't put too much water that it touches the rice bundle)
• Set the stove to low heat and add a bit of oil
• When the pan is hot, add in the sesame seeds, panko bread crumbs and fried onions and keep mixing so it doesn't burn.
• Once it is golden brown, remove it from the heat and set aside for later
• Set the stove to medium high heat and add a bit of oil into the pan
• In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the eggs until well mixed and frothy
• Once the pan is super hot, quickly add in the egg and swirl it around so it touches as much of the hot pan surface as possible. (The pan needs to be super hot for this to work, you want the egg to instantly cook when it touches the hot surface of the pan.) Keep swirling until there is no more raw egg to swirl
• Let it sit for a minute to dry out and cook the egg but watch it closely because eggs burn fast on medium high heat
• Remove the egg from the pan and let it cool
• Once it's cooked, roll it up and cut them into ribbons, set aside to top at the very end.
• Remove the Chinese sausage and dried shrimp from the steamed rice and finely chop it
• Squeeze the excess water from the shiitake mushrooms. If a stem is still intact, cut it out and discard it (they are usually tough). Roughly chop up the shiitakes into small bits.
• Roughly chop the peanuts
• Set the stove to medium heat and add some oil into a frying pan
• Add in the peanuts and lightly toast it for 1 minute
• Add in the Chinese sausage and cook it to release some of the oils (approximately 1-2 minutes)
• Add in the dried shrimp and shiitake mushrooms and shaoxing rice wine and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
• Add in the sticky rice and gently break it apart with the ingredients. This might take some light smashing to break apart, since sticky rice loves clumping together :) The goal is to try to seperate as much of the rice grains as possible.
• Mix the sugar with the soy sauce and add it in and continue to keep 'smushing' and mixing
• Add in the dark soy and mix it until the colour gets evenly distributed, keep mixing.
• At this point, do a taste test. Is it too dry? If it is, add 1 tablespoon of water and keep mixing. Repeat this step until you get the right chewy consistency you want.
• Add in the green onions and mix into the sticky rice
• (Optional) Add in the crispy bits and top it with the egg ribbons
• Enjoy! :)

LO MAI FAN

Steps:

• Wash the rice in a medium bowl 3 times to remove any dirt or dust. Add the rice back to the bowl, cover with enough cold water to come 2 to 3 inches above the surface of the rice and soak for at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
• Soak the mushrooms in 1 1/2 cups warm water in a medium bowl until softened, about 45 minutes.
• Soak the dried shrimp in a small bowl with enough warm water to cover until slightly softened, about 15 minutes. Drain the shrimp and set aside.
• Fill a large pot or wok that fits an 8- to 10-inch steamer basket with water (the water shouldn't touch the bottom of the steamer) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Line an 8- to 10-inch steamer basket with 2 layers of damp cheesecloth or a damp lint-free towel. Drain the rice, spread it in an even layer in the prepared basket and poke a few holes halfway through the layer. Insert the basket in the steamer, cover and steam until the rice is translucent and tender, about 35 minutes. Uncover and remove from the heat to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, squeeze the water from the mushrooms and remove and discard the stems. Roughly chop the caps and transfer to a small bowl with the reserved shrimp. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the mushroom-soaking liquid into another small bowl and discard the remaining soaking liquid.
• Mix the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, chicken bouillon powder, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt with the reserved mushroom-soaking liquid until the sugar and salt are dissolved; set aside.
• Add the peanuts, oil and scallion whites to a wok or large nonstick pan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the peanuts darken slightly and the scallions have slightly softened, about 1 minute. Add the sausage and cook until it releases some oils, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and shrimp and cook until heated, about 2 minutes.
• Swirl in the wine around the hot sides of the wok or pan and stir until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the rice and gently break up the clumps with the back of a wok turner or a spatula. Re-mix the seasoning sauce in the small bowl, then pour most of the sauce over the rice, leaving about 2 tablespoons behind. Cook, stirring and breaking up the rice clumps, until the seasonings are mixed into the rice. If there are parts of the rice that without seasoning, pour the reserved sauce directly over that rice. Mix in the scallion greens and cilantro.
• Divide the sticky rice among 4 small plates. Alternatively, transfer the sticky rice to small bowls and firmly press on the rice mixture to mold to the shape of the bowl. Invert onto larger plates and remove the glass bowls.