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Brown Rice Sambal Trout Lotus Leaf

Chef Nick Liu’s inspiration for this recipe was based on Lo Mai Gai, a popular dim sum dish made with sticky rice. He loves how the lotus leaf makes the brown rice so fragrant. This recipe calls for trout, but can be substituted with any fish.

Brown Rice Sambal Trout Lotus Leaf




Yield
Makes 4 servings.
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
1 h 5 min


Ingredients

Brown Rice:

  • 1 cup (250 mL) U.S. medium grain brown rice
  • 1 crushed clove garlic
  • 1 slice ginger, the size of a toonie
  • 1 piece star anise
  • 1 Jasmine tea bag (optional)

Sambal Trout:

  • 2 dried lotus leaf sheets
  • 500 g trout, skinless and boneless fillets
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) sambal
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) minced ginger
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) minced garlic
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) minced green onion
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) fish sauce

King Oyster Mushrooms:

  • 1 tsp (5 mL) minced ginger
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) minced garlic
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) scallion, minced
  • 1 sliced onion
  • 4 cups (1 L) sliced oyster mushroom
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) Chinese wine
  • to taste salt

Sambal Cucumber:

  • 1 cucumber, cut in half and sliced thin on the bias
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) sambal
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) salt

Directions

Brown Rice:

  1. Place all ingredients in a rice cooker and follow manufacturer’s instructions. When the rice is cooked remove from the rice cooker and discard the ginger, star anise and tea bag. Keep warm.

Sambal Trout:

  1. Place the lotus leaves in a vessel deep enough to completely submerge them under water. Pour boiling water over top and set aside to soak until needed (Just prior to assembling the dish, remove the leaves from water, place on paper towel and pat dry).
  2. Cut the trout into 4 equal pieces. In a bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Coat the fish well with the marinade, cover with cling film and place in fridge for 1 hour.

King Oyster Mushrooms:

  1. Place a sauté pan on medium high heat. Add a couple of teaspoons of cooking oil to the pan and add the ginger, garlic, scallion and onion. Sauté for a few seconds then add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Deglaze with the wine and cook for another minute. Remove from the pan and set aside until assembly.

Sambal Cucumber:

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and set aside until assembly.

The Assembly:

Place the lotus leaves on a clean surface. Remove the hard centre and cut each leaf in half. Place 0.33 cups of the rice in the centre of each of the leaves and press it down so it is flat. Divide the cooked mushroom into 4 and spoon an even layer of mushrooms on top of each pile of rice. Place the fish on top and wrap tightly in the lotus leaf. In a steamer place the lotus wrapped bundles and steam on high heat for 15 minutes and remove from heat. Remove the bundles from the steamer with tongs and place each bundle on a separate plate. Open the bundles carefully and trim the excess lotus leaf using scissors. Place a pinch of the sambal cucumber on top of each trout bundle (there will be extra cucumber to enjoy).

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