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. Let’s make Chicken Sticky Rice in Banana Leaves!
Chicken Sticky Rice in Banana Leaves Recipe
Serves 8
Prep Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups glutinous rice, soaked in water
1 1/4 cups water
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons dried shrimp, rehydrated
2 tablespoons extra light olive oil, divided
2 links Chinese sausage, cut into thin rings
3 cloves garlic, minced
16 pieces banana leaves, frozen, defrosted, and rinsed, cut into roughly 8×10 inches
4 cooked salted egg yolk, halved
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
For the chicken:
2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
Pinch of five-spice powder
Pinch of white pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
Chicken Sticky Rice in Banana Leaves Instructions
To prepare for the ingredients:
- 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.
To make the sauce:
- In a small bowl, add soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, five-spice powder, and white pepper. Whisk together.
To cook the rice:
- 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.
To marinate the chicken:
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the chicken thighs, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, five-spice powder, white pepper, and cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water). Mix well. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
To stir fry the filling:
- 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.
To assemble:
- 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 ½ 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.
To steam:
- 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.