Guangdong Province — Cantonese dim sum and hawker tradition
Savory glutinous rice parcels filled with pork, lap cheong, dried shrimp, mushrooms, and sometimes salted egg yolk, wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed until the rice is sticky and fragrant with lotus perfume. A dim sum classic and hawker centre staple. The lotus leaf imparts an unmistakable herbal, grassy fragrance that cannot be replicated.
Herbal lotus perfume infusing every grain of sticky rice; savory-sweet filling of pork, sausage, mushroom; uniquely aromatic and texturally satisfying
{"Glutinous rice soaked minimum 4 hours, drained and parboiled briefly with soy and sesame oil","Lotus leaves soaked in hot water until fully pliable — dried lotus leaves from Asian supermarkets","Filling marinated and pre-cooked: pork belly, lap cheong, dried mushroom, dried shrimp","Wrap parcel securely and steam 30–45 minutes for rice to fully absorb filling flavours"}
{"Dried lotus leaves from Chinese supermarkets are excellent — soak in hot water 30 minutes","Salted duck egg yolk added whole to centre of parcel creates a molten, intensely savoury core","The parcel will be very firm when first removed from steamer — rest 5 minutes before unwrapping"}
{"Rice not fully soaked — hard, uncooked centres result from insufficient pre-hydration","Lotus leaf tears allow steam to escape, drying the rice","Insufficient seasoning of rice — the lotus leaf and filling cannot compensate for underseasoned rice"}
Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper — Fuchsia Dunlop