Lotus Leaf Menus

By chance, i came across this interesting receipe from http://bakingmum.blogspot.com/2007/07/beggars-chicken.html giving the precise introduction to the making of beggar's chicken. Its a dish i have long heard of and on Tuesday evening for dinner, after having marinated the chicken from Monday.



It was interesting as it is not everyday that you will 'catch' my Mom unaware of any type of fresh produce marketing. Well, she hadnt any idea what lotus leaf looked like, whether dried or fresh etc. Neither do I. But she managed to get around that by asking her friends, and bought 3 dried lotus leaves sold by a medical hall in one of our neighbouring HDB shopping area for $2.



I did not have any picture taken of the baked Beggar's Chicken but it was a winner with my siblings & Mom indeed and its definately a unique receipe which retains the sweetness of the well marinated sauces, coupled with the aroma of from the baking & the wrapping with lotus leaves giving it a fragrance which sweetened the appetite.





And just last evening, I browsed through a cooking book which I borrowed from the Community Library and saw this receipe of Lotus Leaf wrapped rice and it was a instant "hit" in getting me to cook it.



Ingredients :



5 - 6 chinese black mushrooms (well soaked, softened & diced )

1 chinese sausage (soaked, plastic removed, neatly diced) (portion to your own preference)

{ instead of roasted, cooked chicken meat as recommended as we had chicken the nite before}

lotus seed (50g) (optional) (if its dried, soak it in warm water for 20 mins, use toothpick to remove the green colored bitter centre piece & boil for about 25 mins till cooked)

2 spring onions (washed & cut finely)

1 cup of cooked cooled steamed rice

1 lotus leaf (if dried, soften it thoroughly by submerging it in hot boiling water, drain & wipe dry for use)

2 kitchen strings



Sauces :

2 tbsp fish sauce

salt & pepper

3 tbsp of oil



Steps :

Stir fry mushrooms, lap chiong & lotus seed for about 3 mins adding salt & pepper to taste. Dish out into bowl.



With the remaining one tbsp of oil, stir fry rice with the spring onions adding 2 tbsp of fish sauce to taste.



Next add in the fried mushrooms, lap chiong & lotus seed & stir fry till evenly spread and mixed.



Dish out onto centre of lotus leaf, fold it neatly like a parcel, bind with kitchen strings & steam for about 10 mins for the fragrance of the lotus leaf to soak in.



Serve hot.