Hi, all my lovely foodies! This is CiCi. I made Chicken Sticky Rice before, and the most
asked question was, "Can you wrap it in banana leaves?" So today we are going to take a look
and see if that is doable.
Rinse the glutinous rice several times, and soak in water for 2 hours.
Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms, and rehydrate in water for 2 hours.
Rinse the dried shrimp, and rehydrate in water for 2 hours.
Drain all ingredients before using them.
In a small bowl, add soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, five-spice powder,
and white pepper. Whisk together.
In a bowl, add 1 1/4 cup of water. Pour in half of the sauce. Mix.
Transfer the pre-soaked and drained rice to a rice cooker, and add the water mixture.
Mix. Use the setting for rice and cook.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the chicken thighs, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, five-spice
powder, white pepper, and cornstarch slurry, which is 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon
of water. Mix well. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
In a well-seasoned wok, over high heat, heat it up until smoking. Turn to low heat, add
1 tablespoon of extra light olive oil. Immediately add the Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, and
shiitake mushrooms, and stir until the aroma comes out about 1 minute. Remove from wok
and set aside.
In the same wok, over high heat, heat it up until smoking. Add another tablespoon of extra
light olive oil. Add the marinated chicken. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and
the cooked sausage-shrimp-mushroom mixture, and cook until aromatic. Then add the rest
of the sauce. Mix well. Remove from wok and set aside.
When the rice is done, wait for about 5 minutes until it's slightly cooled.
For the banana leaves, they come in a frozen package like this. I have defrosted, fully
cleaned, and cut them into about rectangular shapes. Place a smaller piece on top of a
larger piece, shiny side down.
Place 4 tablespoons of sticky rice in the center and form it into a rectangle. Then
place 1 1/2 tablespoons of fillings and a piece of cooked salted egg yolk over the rice.
Add another 4 tablespoons of rice on top of the fillings.
Fold the bottom of the banana leaves up and over the rice. Then, fold in the right and
left sides, and roll the bundle upward until it becomes a rectangular packet.
Repeat with the rest of the banana leaves, rice, and fillings.
Put each packet in the bamboo steamer.
In a large steamer, bring water to a boil. Transfer in the bamboo steamer. Cover and
steam over high heat for 1 hour. The rice is already cooked, but this additional steaming
step infuses the rice and fillings with the aroma of the banana leaves.
Carefully remove from bamboo steamer and serve.