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Loh Mai Fan

Posted on April 5, 2020June 21, 2021 By Alexandra Wong 1 Comment on Loh Mai Fan

Ooof, how I love loh mai fan or fried glutinous rice!

Not to be confused with loh mai kai, although they share common ingredients, this traditional Chinese dish is stir-fried with sausage, dried shrimps, shitake mushroom, and flavoured with aromatics. In other words, an umami bomb! In case you’re wondering about the difference between loh mai kai and loh mai fan, the former is steamed last, so the rice is softer, while the latter is stir-fried, so the rice has more bite.

Both mum and dad have cooked it before, but extremely rarely because the preparation involves numerous steps. Every ingredient has to be chopped, diced, or pre-cooked. Since I could not recall watching the cooking process from memory, I turned to youtube.

From watching numerous videos, I knew there were two main ways to approach loh mai fan

1) you steam the glutinous rice first, then stir-fry it.
2) you do a “sang chow”, or fry the rice from a raw uncooked state.

Daredevil that I was, I decided to go for the riskier way (no 2) because it saves me one extra step.

I was nervous as heck making this. Would the rice stick to the wok like beehoon and burn? How would I know if the rice was cooked or not while stir-frying it? What if I screwed things up, and wasted an entire morning of chopping and dicing? Yes, this is one of those Chinese recipes that require enough chopping and dicing to make your arms fall off.

But the intrepid explorer in me said, don’t fear the unknown Bunny. Everything will be all right.

I wanted to cry after making it. Ask my husband. I sat frozen in shock digesting the surreal fact that my first ever loh mai fan turned out well, in fact more delicious than I dared imagine. Although the next time I would let it steam a little longer so that the rice is softer.

With that, I am pleased to present to you my recipe of loh mai fan, cooked on 4 April during the COVID19 MCO ☺

Try this claypot chicken rice dish as well – it’s another flavour bomb!

Loh Mai Fan

Alexandra Wong
A classic dim sum favourite, this hearty glutinous rice dish is stir-fried with crispy dried shrimp, fried shallots, roast peanuts and other umami condiments.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 6 hrs
Cook Time 1 hr
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2

Equipment

  • wok

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup glutinous rice, soaked in water minimum 5 hours and drained
  • 4 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water and chopped (reserve water)*
  • 2 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked in water and roughly chopped (reserve water)*
  • 1/2 Chinese sausage (lap cheong), diced into small cubes*
  • 4 shallots, sliced thinly
  • 3 garlic cloves, diced finely
  • 1/2 inch ginger, grated
  • 1 tbsp light soya sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp dark soya sauce
  • 1 tbsp peanuts, pounded roughly
  • 1/2 stalk spring onion, chopped
  • cooking oil for frying

Instructions
 

  • Heat up 2 tbs oil in wok and put in shallots. Keep your heat low so that the shallots have time to infuse the oil with its aroma without burning. Once golden brown, remove shallots and drain on paper towel.
  • In the same oil, add in Chinese sausage. Fry over medium-low heat to allow its fats to render into the oil and make it flavourful without burning. When sausage starts to char lightly, remove from heat.
  • In the same oil, put in dried prawns. Make sure you pat prawns dry first or else it will splatter violently! Use a wok cover to shield yourself if necessary. Fry until dried prawns are crispy and fragrant but NOT burnt – use your nose to guide you. Usually, when the prawns start to foam, it means the prawns are almost done. Remove prawns.
  • In the now super flavourful oil,  add garlic, ginger and mushrooms and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add the rice and toss to mix thoroughly with the flavoured oil for 1-2 minutes. Don’t worry, the rice won’t stick to the wok (even though the other name for glutinous rice is sticky rice).
  • Now it's time to steam the rice. Sprinkle 2 tbs of the reserved mushroom and shrimp soaking water over the rice, then cover with a lid for ½ minute to 1 minute. Open the lid and give the rice a few stirs to ensure the rice is not burnt at the bottom. Repeat the same action (sprinkle water, cover with lid, after 30 seconds open lid and stir a bit) a few times until rice is fully cooked. You will be able to tell when you use your spatula to move the rice around and the rice feels heavier.  
  • Now add the light and dark soya sauce, dried shrimp and lap cheong. Mix thoroughly to coat every grain.
  • Taste to see if rice is cooked to your liking. If you prefer the rice to be softer, add more water and continue the same process until the rice achieves your desired texture.
  • Dish up and sprinkle with chopped spring onion and fried shallots. Delish!

Notes

  1. How much water to soak mushrooms and shrimp? Chinese cooking is all about eyeballing, so as a rule, just use enough water to cover the tops of the mushrooms/shrimps.
  2. Some lap cheong will be harder than others, so use your discretion. I used a chicken lap cheong which has lower fat content (and is more healthy!) than regular pork lap cheong. Without the extra fat, the meat is a little harder, so to soften it, I soak the sausage in hot water for 15 minutes. Then I remove the outer casing and cut each sausage vertically into four strips, before dicing them into small squares.
  3. I prefer to separately pre-fry my shrimps, shallots and lap cheong. Other recipes suggest you fry them together but as I am not such an experienced cook, I prefer to do it separately so that I don’t risk burning them. Experiment and see ☺
  4. You do need some cooking experience to tell from the appearance and smell of ingredients as they’re being cooked, whether they’ve achieved the right level of cooked-ness (if there’s such a thing). So on a difficulty level, I'd rate this as intermediate - but who knows, maybe you're a faster learner than I am, so go ahead, try it!
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Chinese, One-pot meal, Rice Tags:Chinese cooking, one-pan meal, rice

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Who’s Ipohbunny, lah?

Welcome!

I’m Alexandra Wong, a self-taught Malaysian home cook on a mission to simplify and healthify recipes using affordable quality ingredients. I am a writer by profession, mostly known for my feelgood stories about people, travel and food.

ipohbunny

I make this granola Every Single Week. Its that go I make this granola Every Single Week. Its that good 😉 #granola #homemade #homemadegranola #cookwithipohbunny #granolarecipe #oats #wholefoods
"How's my burger?" "The flavour is quite good." "How's my burger?"

"The flavour is quite good."

Hubs' feedback stopped there, so I knew something was not right.

Know what I found out? That he and I have fundamentally very different concepts of what a good burger should be.

Having spent many years in the UK and US, his idea of a proper burger is a patty of mostly ground quality meat. Having grown up in Ipoh eating roadside budget burgers, my idea of a good burger is a moist patty that's much more tender inside because it's been stuffed with something called panade.

No, I didn't know what panade was either, until I Googled it up. Panade is bread soaked with milk, which you add to the meat to form a burger. The panade adds that oh so desirable moistness and juiciness to the burger. Yes, it won't taste as meat-dense as the meat-only burger patties that hubs is used to in the UK and US, but that's the taste I am used to. In fact, I find those meat-only burgers in high-end restaurants too beefy and meaty.

Anyway, here's how I made my burger

1. Cut up one slice bread into cubes. Add a 2 tbs milk to soak bread and crumble with fingers until it's mashed up like puree. This is your panade.
2. Dice up half a yellow onion finely. The acidity of the onion tenderises the meat.
3. Mix onion and panade with 250g minced beef ( you can add more if you want a beefier taste), salt, pepper, and enough egg to bind. Add egg slowly because you don't want too much liquid.
4. Shape into patties and panfry on both sides. Serve! :)

#homemadeburger #burger #hamburger #beefpatty #cookwithipohbunny #ipohbunnyrecipes #Malaysianhomecook #foodporn #meatlover #burgerrecipes
Wahhhh! Didn't expect so many of you to ask me for Wahhhh! Didn't expect so many of you to ask me for my chicken char siew recipe. Either I took a damn good photo, or .. you guys really really want to eat chicken char siew lol.

Ok, I can't take credit for the recipe because I compared and picked bits and pieces off recipes by other people. Most of the ingredients are quite predictable - hoisin sauce, soy sauces, honey/sugar, 5-spice powder - but the one thing taht surprised me was the addition of lam yue or fermented red beancurd. I read that it lends a distinct umami that can't be replicated by other ingredients. Well, I just happened to have a bottle, so I put it in. 

This isn't perfect, but I'm jotting it down for future references.
1) Mix together 2 tbs hoisin sauce, 1 tbs light soy sauce, 1 tbs dark soy sauce, 1 tbs honey/agave, white sugar to taste, and a pinch of five-spice powder. I didn't measure, just agak2 only so please bear this in mind!
2) Add 1-2 cubes of fermented red beancurd along with a tsp of the sauce it's submerged in. Mix everything together and taste if it's sweet/savoury enough.
3) Marinate your chicken chop in the sauce for several hours.
4) Pan fry on both sides. Done!

Important notes:
1) This is one of the most variable sauces around. By that I mean, some people like it sweet, some less so. I say, just taste the sauce before you marinate your chicken and adjust accordingly. I don't like too sweet so I reduced the sugar.
2) Which may be why my chicken didnt' char siew in the oven, although I tried grilling it at 200 C, basting it with the sauce several times, etc. Maybe not enough sugar to caramelise properly, so i ended up pan-frying the chicken in my nonstick sauce pan. Kau tim!

#Chineserecipes #chickencharsiew #bbqchicken #Ipohbunnyyrecipes #cookwithipohbunny #chickenrecipes #chicken #Malaysianhomecook #Malaysianfoodblogger
Stir fried celery with roasted cashews ❤️ Ser Stir fried celery with roasted cashews ❤️

Seriously. One of the tastiest #vegan dishes you'll eat in your life - and so healthy! A restaurant favourite that can be easily recreated at home with just five ingredients, the crunchy freshness of just-cooked celery goes so well with the creamy cashew.

1. Remove the stringy outer layer of celery stems with a vegetable peeler.

2. Slice diagonally across each stem to get 
3/4 cm thick slices.

3. Heat up 1 tbs oil in non stick pan. Add celery and sear for 1 minute, before browning. Remove from pan. 

4. In same pan, add garlic (and more oil if needed) to saute. Add back celery.

5. Add 1 tbs (vegetarian) oyster sauce and 3-4 tbs water. Stir to mix the liquids.

6. Cover with a lid and steam for a few minutes till your desired doneness. The time will depend on how crunchy you want your celery. Less time, more crunchy. Just eat a piece of the celery to decide.

7. Toss in roasted cashews, stir to mix and dish up!

#veganchinesefood #vegetarian #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #celery #Chinesecooking #cookwithipohbunny #ipohbunnyrecipes #Malaysianhomecook #vegetarianrecipes
This salted egg bittergourd is so gorgeous!! 1. S This salted egg bittergourd is so gorgeous!!

1. Slice bittergourd into two length wise. Scoop out white pith and seeds. 
2. Slice bittergourd thinly. Rub with salt and leave aside for 15 min to remove bitterness. Wash off salt.
3. Boil salted duck egg for 10 minutes. Scoop out egg yolk and mash finely.
4. Heat up 1-2 tbs oil and lightly fry bittergourd slices for 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
5. In same oil, add chopped garlic and mashed egg yolk. Cook until mixture starts to foam.
6. Add 1/4 cup water (or more) and stir to mix and create a sauce. May be a bit watery at this stage, so add water slowly.
7. Add a pinch of sugar.
8. Now add back bittergourd, toss through, cover with lid and cook over low flame to reduce sauce until it has thickened to your desired consistency. 
9. Serve with white rice :)

Psst if you want my steamed egg recipe, check out my YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkxFGOKXiJg 

#cookwithipohbunny #ipohbunnyrecipes #vegetarianrecipes #vegetarian #bittergourd #Chinesecooking #Malaysianhomecook
Zucchini puffs... Inspired by the incredibly creat Zucchini puffs... Inspired by the incredibly creative Chef @dan.giusti on @epicurious

Using @kawan_food roti malabar, egg, Zucchini and salt and pepper only.

Quick easy lunch :) 

#vegetarian #vegetariansnacks #cookwithipohbunny #ipohbunnyrecipes #puffpastry #vegetabletart
I smashed it!! My one and only #fudgybrownie rec I smashed it!!

My one and only #fudgybrownie recipe from now on. 

Cos it works

1/2 stick butter (60g)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
Pinch of salt
50-60g dark chocolate
1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Melt butter and dark chocolate.
2. Mix in sugar until sugar melts.
3. Whip egg until pale and frothy. Add to cream mixture.
4. Fold in flour, saltand cocoa powder.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Done!!

#brownie #brownierecipe #cookwithipohbunny #ipohbunnyrecipes #desserts
Mita Bakery from Kuching @mitaofficialkch kononnya Mita Bakery from Kuching @mitaofficialkch kononnya legendary. At least according to hubby, who got this cake during his biz trip.

One bite of their famous butter cheese cake and I can understand why. Sooo fragrant and moist even after 3 days. Its buttery without being heavy, know what I mean? Good #baking kungfu, this. That addition of cheese gives it a subtle hint of umami that just takes this to another level. When you slice it, it looks like white sandwich bread because the crumb is quite dense, so interesting! 

Gonna eat this very sparingly.

#buttercake #eatcake #cake #kuchingfood #Sarawakfood #foodblogger #Malaysianfoodblogger
I love all sorts of cakes, but carrot cake is sacr I love all sorts of cakes, but carrot cake is sacred territory.

My mum used to make it. Her cakes were wondrously crumbly and moist, and filled with so many goodies (We Ipoh people call it "toh liu") that nothing sold outside has ever, ever come close. 

Until @grumpyoldman_bakes

I didn't plan on ordering his cake, honestly. But I'd had to rush back to Ipoh for an emergency, and after some very stressful days, I figured I deserve a cake. Cakes make everything better right?

I'd read him waxing lyrical about his carrot cake and against my better judgement, I decided to order one. Gulp, risky. But what's life without some risk?

He was so sweet and helpful in his interactions, and even tolerated my unnecessary rambling (I express to destress). 

When I popped the box lid open, I gasped at how pretty it was. The whole cake was covered in thick frosting and topped with fresh walnuts. 

And then I cut a slice for mum and was even more shocked. You could see the grated carrot and nuts - it was so generous portioned - but the proof was in the tasting. MUm's tasting, to be exact.

She took a  bite and smiled approvingly. "It's so moist inside!"

That is the HIGHEST compliment, in my opinion, one can ever pay a carrot cake. So many out there guilty of dry, pebbly abominations. 

I took a bite and immediately noticed how fresh it tasted. And, I realised, tears springing to my eyes, how close it was to Mum's version, which I last ate more than 20 years ago. 

Thank you Chris for awakening these wonderful memories. 

#carrotcake #grumpyoldmanbakes #ipohbaker #homebaker #ipohhomebaker
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