Rice Cooker No Soak Lo Ma Gai | Chinese glutinous rice

How to make an easy, no-soak, rice cooker Lo Ma Gai or Chinese sticky rice.

Lo Ma Gai (Loh Mai Kai / Lor Ma Gai / Loh Ma Gai / 糯米鸡) is a Chinese-style glutinous rice dim sum dish that is commonly served as breakfast or brunch. This is a sweet, savoury dish with chicken, dried mushrooms and lap cheong or Chinese sausages. This recipe is a fully Halal, no-pork version of Lor Ma Gai, and equally delicious!

Alternative to Lap Cheong or Chinese Sausage

Lap Cheong is a key ingredient in Lo Ma Gai. It is a Chinese jerky sausage that is sweet and salty, and typically made of pork. There are chicken, or halal versions of it available, but quite rare.

Instead, I used Char Siu chicken to imitate the sweet-saltiness of lap cheong. It works wonderfully well! I always make extra char siu chicken since they’re so versatile. One of my favourite ways to use them up is in Lo Ma Gai. My chicken char siu recipe is here, I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and skipped the food colouring.

I added pepperoni slices. This is not authentic, of course, but it does add to the look of Lo Ma Gai that is otherwise missing from the lack of lap cheong! This is optional by the way, the familiar flavours of lo ma gai should come from the char siu chicken.

What type of Shiitake Mushrooms to use?

I used fresh shiitake mushrooms, but traditionally dried mushrooms are used. Dried mushrooms has a much deeper, savoury, umami flavour, but it does require soaking. To use dried mushrooms, soak in water for at least four hours. Not exactly my idea of a quick meal, which is why I use fresh mushrooms. It’s a slight compromise on flavour which I don’t mind for time.

Lo Ma Gai Rice: Glutinous Rice

You will have to find glutinous rice or sticky rice, sometimes called “Thai glutinous rice”. Before using the sticky rice, give it a wash and rinse under water. The rice is washed properly once the water runs clear. Conventionally, you will need to soak the rice for at least 4 hours and even overnight.

Glutinous rice, unlike regular rice, has a tougher outer layer. Soaking it in the water will soften the surface, while allowing the rice to absorb the water. Once it has soaked sufficiently, drain the water, and steam for about 25 minutes to get sticky rice.

Japanese Rice Cooker – No Soak Method

I’ve always loved sticky rice, and prefer it to regular rice any day. I always eat a bunch whenever I’m in Thailand, because it’s so prevalent there. With some Thai grilled chicken, and Nam Jim Jeaw… it’s one of my favourite meals. I’ve always wondered why it’s not as prevalent here in Singapore… Now I realise it’s the long soak time required.

With a rice cooker, I can totally skip this soaking step! I used a multi-function rice cooker, more commonly known as a Japanese rice cooker. These rice cookers come with different settings for different purposes. I use the Himeji brand, but more popular and accessible brands would be Zojirushi, Panasonic and Toshiba are extremely popular brands and more easily available.

Glutinous rice do not need as much water as regular rice. The general ratio to cook plain sticky rice is 1 part rice to 2/3 parts water.

For this recipe however, I had to do a 1:1 ratio. This is to balance out the added ingredients. To note that I simply used the same cup for the rice to measure out the water or stock as well.

I would err on the side of more water if unsure. I’ve added a bit more water before (1.5 times more), and although soft, it was still good and sticky. Not too much though! You don’t want mushy rice.

The setting to use would be “sweet rice”. If you do not have this setting, then set the timer for 50 minutes. All rice cookers are built differently so at the 50-minute mark, give your rice a taste test. If it’s not softened fully and still has a bite to it, continue letting it cook. Check every 5 minutes or so, until it has cooked fully. Once you’re happy with the texture, simply turn off the rice cooker.

By the way, my rice cooker has a “Low Sugar” setting, which just means it cooks twice as long at a constant temperature. This is what I use. On the regular cook setting, I simply let it cook twice to match the timing, and it came out perfect as well.

Can I use my Regular Rice Cooker to make Lo Ma Gai?

This can work in a regular rice cooker with just one setting, although it’s a bit trickier. You will need to come back several times to flip the switch back on to continuously cook the rice. Therefore results may vary.

For a more foolproof method, I recommend that you soak the rice for just 1 to 2 hours first. This will allow enough softening of the rice. The completely drain the rice, add the ingredients, and water as well. Turn on the rice cooker and let it cook as though it were regular rice. At the end of the cooking process, you should get fully cooked sticky rice.

Can I Steam this Lo Ma Gai instead?

Yes! If you prefer to steam this, it will require a couple extra steps. I highlighted this in the recipe card down below. While not as easy as with the rice cooker, it’s not too difficult to achieve too.

More Recipes Like This:

If you like more rice cooker recipes, check these out:

• KFC Rice Cooker Fried Chicken Rice
• Easy chicken rice in a rice cooker
• Chicken Bak Kut Teh
• Rice Cooker Cheesecake

Rice Cooker No Soak Lor Ma Gai | Chinese glutinous rice

Recipe by Sha

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Recipes

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup glutinous rice, rinsed until water runs clear

• 1 cup water or stock
  

• To Pan Fry

• 1 shallot, minced

• 1 garlic, minced

• 1 cm ginger, grated

• 1 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked in warm water for 10 mins

• 60g minced meat

• 2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

• 70g char siu chicken

• 8 pepperoni slices (optional)

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp cooking oil

• 1-2 stalks of chives (or sprint onions), chopped

• Seasoning Sauce

• 2 tbsps dark soy sauce

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce

• 1/2 tsp white pepper

Directions

• Rice Cooker
• Add some oil to a pan, and once hot, add the shallot, ginger and garlic. Saute, and once fragrant, add minced meat and dried shrimps. Stir fry to almost cook the minced meat.
• Add the mushrooms, along with the seasoning sauce. Give everything a stir. Allow mushroom to absorb the sauce before adding the char siu and pepperoni slices. Add sesame oil and stir to incorporate. Take off the heat.
• Transfer rinsed and drained glutinous rice to the rice cooker pot. Add the pan fried ingredients and all of the sauces into the rice cooker pot. Add water or stock. Stir to evenly coat and pat down the rice to level out.
• Turn the rice cooker on, and set to “sweet rice” option, or set the timer to 50 minutes. Halfway through, you can stir the rice through to get an even stir, although this is not necessary.
• Once rice is cooked, stir in chives and lo ma gai is ready to serve! For presentation, pack the rice in a bowl, and flip it over onto a plate.
• Rice Cooker with One Setting
• Soak washed glutinous rice for 2 hours. Completely drain after soaking.
• Repeat steps 1-3 in ‘Rice Cooker’.
• Turn the rice cooker on and let it cook. At the end of the cooking process, sticky rice should cook fully. Garnish with chives and serve.
• Steaming
• Soak the washed glutinous rice for 4 hours minimum. Completely drain after soaking.
• Repeat steps 1-2 in ‘Rice Cooker’. After stirring in sesame oil, add the drained glutinous rice. Stir through the rice with the ingredients in the pan. Once evenly mixed, pack glutinous rice onto steam-safe bowls.
• Turn the steamer on and steam the bowls of glutinous rice. Let steam for about 40 minutes, or until rice is cooked through. Garnish with chives and serve.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @nomadetteats on Instagram