Nyonya Cooking

Lo Mai Gai

'Lo mai gai' or chinese steamed glutinous rice with chicken, mushrooms and Chinese sausages is a common dim sum dish. Usually enjoyed for breakfast or brunch, lo mai gai as known in Cantonese originates from the Guangdong Province.

5 stars
Grace
Grace

Preparation 30 mins
 Cooking 90 mins

Main

Chinese Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken, Lor Mai Kai, 糯米鸡

Malaysian, Singaporean, Cantonese, Bruneian

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Nutrition per Serving

437 kcal
78 g
7 g
14 g

In 'dim sum' (Chinese tapas) restaurants worldwide, loh mai gai or Chinese steamed glutinous rice with chicken is commonly sold. If you had visited any of these restaurants in Malaysia or Singapore, you would noticed that this dish is usually served in a small disposable aluminum bowl. Normally, it would be steamed in a huge steaming cabinet together with other types of dim sum and fluffy Chinese buns of various fillings.

Halal lo mai gai

Lo mai gai is not a halal dish. However, you can adapt this recipe accordingly and turn it into a halal version. Opting to omit 'shaoxing' wine and Chinese sausages would make it possible. You may substitute Chinese sausages with others but the taste would deviate significantly from the original version. The Chinese sausages maintain the authentic taste of this dish.

Vegetarian lo mai gai

While this glutinous rice dish always uses chicken, the vegetarian version is quite popular too. It omits all meat and uses only shiitake mushrooms and mushroom sauce instead.

Prepare lo mai gai in advanced

Do soak the dried mushrooms and glutinous rice in preparation for this dish. The mushrooms have to be really soft or they would not be delicious. Frying the Chinese sausages in advanced also helps to quicken the cooking process. Be sure to get those of good quality and without any flavouring. Those with added ‘mei kuei lu chiew’ or rose wine are not suitable for the dish.

Best chilli sauce to go with lo mai gai

Lo mai gai is best served with a spicy smooth sauce which is commonly sold commercially. A hot and sweet chilli sauce would work best. Otherwise, the classic sriracha chilli sauce is a great match too.

Freeze lo mai gai

After they are steamed, they can be kept frozen or stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Ingredients

Servings:  
360 g
glutinous rice
3
shiitake mushroom(s)
1 tbsp
dark soy sauce
1 tsp
shaoxing wine
2 tsp
sesame oil
1 tsp
sugar
1⁄2 tsp
ginger
1 tbsp
oyster sauce
100 g
chicken meat
2 tsp
light soy sauce
1
shallot(s)
1
garlic clove(s)
2 tsp
soy sauce
1
Chinese sausage(s)
1⁄2 tbsp
oil

Steps to Prepare

Lo Mai Gai Step 1

Step 1 of 6

    • 360 g glutinous rice
    • 3 shiitake mushroom(s)

Soak glutinous rice and dried mushrooms for at least 5 hours. Do not discard water used to soak dried mushrooms.

Lo Mai Gai Step 2

Step 2 of 6

    • 1⁄2 tbsp dark soy sauce
    • 1 tsp shaoxing wine
    • 1 tsp sesame oil
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • 1⁄2 tsp ginger
    • 1⁄2 tbsp oyster sauce
    • 100 g chicken meat
    • 2 tsp light soy sauce

Chop chicken into bite sizes. Marinate chicken and hydrated dried mushrooms with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, oyster sauce and minced ginger together with four tablespoons of mushroom water.

Lo Mai Gai Step 3

Step 3 of 6

    • 1 shallot(s)
    • 1 garlic clove(s)
    • 1⁄2 tbsp oyster sauce
    • 1⁄2 tbsp dark soy sauce
    • 2 tsp soy sauce
    • 1 tsp sesame oil

In a pan, heat oil over medium heat to sauté sliced shallots and minced garlic until fragrant. Reduce heat to the minimum. Then, add glutinous rice, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix thoroughly until glutinous rice blends evenly with the sauces.

Lo Mai Gai Step 4

Step 4 of 6

Transfer glutinous rice to a plate. Add 2 tablespoons of mushroom water. Steam for 45 minutes.

Lo Mai Gai Step 5

Step 5 of 6

    • 1 Chinese sausage(s)
    • 1⁄2 tbsp oil

In a pan, heat oil over medium heat to cook chicken with the marinated ingredients. Gravy may be thickened with cornstarch mixture. Optionally, you may separately sauté the slices of Chinese sausages in a pan (without oil) over medium heat.

Lo Mai Gai Step 6

Step 6 of 6

Place chicken, mushroom, Chinese sausages and some gravy into a bowl. Then, fill it up with glutinous rice. Cover bowl with aluminum foil and steam for 10 minutes. Serve hot. Alternatively, freeze them for later consumption.

Published: October 19, 2016

3 Discussions

Jennifer Leong
3 years ago

Jennifer Leong

First time here and been attempting cooking in lockdown. I have a silly question, what does the arrows mean in the recipes?

Roslyn Dagostino
4 years ago

Roslyn Dagostino

Thank you Grace for the recipe on chicken lo mai kai. I wanted to try wrapping up like a dumpling. Couple of ingredients which I don't have but I substitute with what I can find. For glutinous rice , I used risotto rice and dried wild mushrooms. As for the bamboo leaves , I used pandan leaves. Wrapped up one big dumpling and it turned out beautiful delicious dumpling.

Robin
4 years ago

Robin

感谢您 “Nyonya Cooking” 这个可爱 的食谱！

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