Lo mai gai, Sticky Rice with Chicken

📝 Ingredients

• 360 g sticky rice
• 500 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5)
• 250 g button mushrooms
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce (1 for the marinade, 1 for the filling, 1 for the rice)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce (1 for the marinade, 2 for the rice)
• 1 tbsp cornflour + 1 tsp caster sugar
• 15 g fresh ginger + 2 garlic cloves (half for the marinade, half for the rice)
• ½ chicken stock cube + 200 ml hot water
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil + 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 spring onions
• White pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Steamer basket (or steamer)
• Large pot with lid
• Wok or large frying pan
• Baking paper
• Mixing bowl
• Colander

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the sticky rice in the mixing bowl, changing the water 3 or 4 times, until it runs almost clear. Cover generously with cold water and leave to soak for at least 2 h, ideally 4 h or overnight: without soaking, it would stay hard.
2. Cut the chicken into 2 to 3 cm pieces. Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger. Mix the chicken with 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce, the cornflour, the sugar, half the garlic and ginger, and some white pepper. Chill for 30 min.
3. Wipe the mushrooms clean and slice them. Heat the sunflower oil in the wok over a high heat and stir-fry the mushrooms for 5 min, until their liquid evaporates and they turn golden. Add the chicken, sear for 3 min, then add 1 tbsp oyster sauce and stir. Set aside on a plate.
4. Drain the rice thoroughly in the colander. In the wiped-out wok, heat the sesame oil over a medium heat and fry the rest of the garlic and ginger for 30 s. Add the rice, 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp oyster sauce, then stir for 1 min.
5. Dissolve the ½ stock cube in the hot water and pour it gradually over the rice, stirring for 5 to 6 min over a medium heat, until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice turns sticky. It's still crunchy at this stage: that's normal.
6. Cut 4 squares of baking paper, about 35 cm on each side. In the centre of each, spread an eighth of the rice into a rectangle, add a quarter of the chicken and mushrooms, then cover with another eighth of the rice, pressing down. Fold the paper into a tightly sealed parcel, like an envelope.
7. Bring 5 cm of water to the boil in the large pot, set the steamer basket on top and pack the parcels in snugly, folded side down. Cover and steam for 40 min over a medium-high heat, checking the water level halfway through and topping up with boiling water if needed.
8. Open one parcel to check: the rice should be tender, translucent and sticky all the way through, and the chicken cooked through. If not, steam for another 10 min. Sprinkle with sliced spring onions and serve piping hot, in the paper.