There are many ways to cook glutinous rice and it doesn’t always have to be lor mai gai. This dish is not new, but I’m sure very few people cook their lor mai fan this way. It’s very tasty and not complicated at all. You must try this at home one of these days.

You’ll need some white glutinous rice, soaked in water for at least 15 minutes. Don’t soak it overnight. It’ll start to ferment.

Dried shitake mushrooms, cut and soaked till they are soft.

Next, fry some shredded cuttlefish in oil till the oil is nice and fragrant. Then, you add in the mushrooms and one can of braised peanuts. Give it a good helping of oyster sauce and some sesame oil.

Add water, stir, add a bit more water, stir until you get a nice, gluey mix.

My mother who never cooks her glutinous rice this way once said that my lor mai fan looked pretty disastrous at this stage.

Next, you fill the gluey, uncooked mixture into a metal plate or tray. Then you mount it in a steamer and start steaming. I recommend 25 minutes.

You can tell that your rice is cooked when it turns translucent. Even my mother wouldn’t say that my lor mai fan is disastrous at this stage.

The finished product. Believe me, it’s delicious.

© Chan Joon Yee