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5 from 7 votes

Chinese Sticky Rice (Authentic Lo Mai Fan)

A classic dim sum favorite, with a bit of a crispy twist! This satisfyingly chewy Chinese sticky rice (lo mai fan) with Chinese sausage tossed in with crispy sesame and onion bits for additional textures and flavors.
Prep Time4 hours
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time4 hours 30 minutes
Course: Asian, Dim Sum, Side
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 243kcal
Author: Joyce Lee

Ingredients

Chinese Sticky Rice Sauce

Egg Ribbon Garnish (Optional)

  • 1 egg

Crispy Bits Garnish (Optional)

Instructions

Soak the Glutinous Rice

  • The first step is to soak the glutinous rice in a bowl of warm water for a minimum of 4 hours. If possible, leave it overnight. This soaking process will allow the grains of rice to absorb water and become soft and sticky when steamed.

Preparation

  • Soak 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms and 2 tablespoons dried shrimp in hot water.
    Depending on the size, it may take 30 minutes to an hour. Try to fully submerge the shiitake mushrooms under water by placing a small plate into the bowl to weigh them down.
  • In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoon soy sauce, ½ teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine and set it aside for later.
  • Finely chop the green onions and set aside

Steaming the Rice

  • Once the rice is thoroughly soaked, place it in a steamer along with the soaked dried shrimp and Chinese sausage.
  • Set the stove to medium heat and steam the ingredients for 30 minutes in a steamer. It’s crucial to ensure that there’s enough water in the steamer to last the entire steaming process, but the water level should not be too high as to touch the rice.

Making the Crispy Bits Toppings (Optional)

Making the Egg Ribbon Toppings (Optional)

  • Set the stove to medium heat and add a bit of oil into the pan
  • In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the egg until well mixed and  frothy
  • Once the pan is heated, pour in the beaten eggs and swirl them around to evenly spread them across the pan’s surface. To make thinner ribbons, use a large pan, so that eggs can spread further out on the pan.
  • 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.

Stir Frying the Sticky Rice

  • 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.
    Chinese sausage being chopped on a cutting board
  • 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 the steamed sticky rice to the pan and gently break it apart by mixing the other ingredients with into it. The goal is to separate the rice grains as much as possible. The more oil there is, the easier this will be.
  • Add the sugar/soy sauce mixture to the rice and, continuing to stir the ingredients together until all the rice is coated with it.
  • Add in 1 tablespoon dark soy and mix it until the color gets evenly distributed.
  • 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! :)

Notes

  • If you cannot find dark soy sauce, you can use regular soy sauce instead. You will only lose the brown color.
  • If you can't find crispy fried onions at an Asian grocery store, you can also use French's crispy onions as well.
  • When you are shopping for sticky rice at an Asian grocery store, it may also be labeled as glutinous rice or sweet rice. Both long grain or short grain will work for this recipe.
  • Make sure to soak the rice for a minimum of 4 hours, but soaking it overnight works best though.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 11g | Sodium: 915mg | Sugar: 2g