Chinese lotus leaf wraps

Lotus leaves. Are these edible? If so you might not want to
replace with foil. Probably wouldn't be quite the same.
E.

"Alison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Went to this dim sum place for lunch the other day, and
I tried a new thing (new for me, at least!).. Some kinda
sticky rice with pork wrapped up in a lotus leaf. It was
really nice, and the lotus leaf really gave it this
special aroma. Has anyone tried making this at home
ever? Any recipes to share for this? What if I cant find
lotus leaves in the local oriental store, can I just use
some foil instead?

Thanks, Alison

"Alison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Went to this dim sum place for lunch the other day, and I
tried a new thing (new for me, at least!).. Some kinda
sticky rice with pork wrapped up in a lotus leaf. It was
really nice, and the lotus leaf really gave it this
special aroma. Has anyone tried making this at home ever?
Any recipes to share for this? What if I cant find lotus
leaves in the local oriental store, can I just use some
foil instead?

Thanks, Alison

That's one of my favorites. Unfortunately I have not been
able to find the lotus leaves even though there are quite a
few oriental shops around here. I do not think foil would
work because I think the recipe involves putting raw - or
maybe partly cooked -ingredients in the leaf and simmering
or steaming for a long time. You do not eat the leaf, of
course, but things will not cook the same in foil. But,
maybe someone who has actually tried it will know better.

Peter

Quoted message said:

Some kinda sticky rice with pork

Quoted message said:

wrapped up in a lotus leaf.

This has prompted a vague memory-

I had something last time that was new to me....the package
was about palm sized- the rice inside had turned a bit
brownish/green from the leaf, and I thought maybe it was a
tea leaf. But I have no idea if a tea leaf can even grow
that big! Could it have been a lotus leaf? It was very
tasty. How big is this item you're describing?

-Jen

-Jen

Half the people you know are below average. -Steven Wright

Hello Alison,

That large leaf you're talking about is actually a banana
leaf. It is used to wrap the rice together, which is cooked
by steaming it. The leaf also adds flavour to the rice, so I
don't believe that you can replicate that dish with foil.

"Alison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Went to this dim sum place for lunch the other day, and I
tried a new thing (new for me, at least!).. Some kinda
sticky rice with pork wrapped up in a lotus leaf. It was
really nice, and the lotus leaf really gave it this
special aroma. Has anyone tried making this at home ever?
Any recipes to share for this? What if I cant find lotus
leaves in the local oriental store, can I just use some
foil instead?

Thanks, Alison

They call that "sticky rice with sausage " (Lo Mai Gai) up
here in Calgary! good stuff!

chinesefood.about.comblrecipe037.htmOpen ↗

I had a craving the other day for rice iwth sausage so I
just made rice, fried some onions and cut up the chinese
sausage and fried them then mixed it all together.
Everyone liked it.

take care Liz

Hey! Look what [email hidden] (Alison) wrote :

Quoted message said:

Went to this dim sum place for lunch the other day, and I
tried a new thing (new for me, at least!).. Some kinda
sticky rice with pork wrapped up in a lotus leaf. It was
really nice, and the lotus leaf really gave it this
special aroma. Has anyone tried making this at home ever?
Any recipes to share for this? What if I cant find lotus
leaves in the local oriental store, can I just use some
foil instead?

Thanks, Alison

Alison said:

Went to this dim sum place for lunch the other day, and I
tried a new thing (new for me, at least!).. Some kinda
sticky rice with pork wrapped up in a lotus leaf. It was
really nice, and the lotus leaf really gave it this
special aroma. Has anyone tried making this at home ever?
Any recipes to share for this? What if I cant find lotus
leaves in the local oriental store, can I just use some
foil instead?

Hi Alison,

I know what you are talking about. My mother-in-law makes
it. Actually, if the pack is square in shape it is probably
lotus leaves. If it is trianglar in shape then it is
probably bamboo leaves.

You should be able find them at a chinese grocery store. If
you are in the Toronto area there is a supermarket called
T&T located on Bathurst north of Steeles (they are in the
Promenade Mall, north side). They would have the lotus
leaves. Actually, they have the stuff already prepared so
you just need to steam it.

The only thing I know about making the dish is that you have
to soak the leaves before you wrap the ingredients. You can
make it with all kinds of different ingredients. It is
usually sticky rice filled with something. Traditional
combinations are red bean paste, red bean paste and a salty
duck egg yolk or pork and [censored] mushrooms.

I'm not sure if my mother-in-law is willing to part with
her recipe but I would imagine there are recipes out
there for it...

Just did a quick search on www.google.ca and found the
following link:
chinesefood.about.comblrecipe037.htmOpen ↗. Don't
know how good this is. This recipe indicates that you can
use aluminum foil instead of lotus leaves. My wife tells me
that it will absolutely change the dish if you did not use
lotus leaves.

I also remember being sent out for potato starch. Couldn't
find potato starch so I bought corn starch. I was told that
would not do and had to go out again for potato starch. The
recipe above calls for corn starch. 8^(

--
Send e-mail to: darrell at cs dot toronto dot edu Don't send
e-mail to [email hidden]

In article <[email hidden]>,

Peter Aitken said:

"Alison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Went to this dim sum place for lunch the other day, and
I tried a new thing (new for me, at least!).. Some kinda
sticky rice with pork wrapped up in a lotus leaf. It was
really nice, and the lotus leaf really gave it this
special aroma. Has anyone tried making this at home
ever? Any recipes to share for this? What if I cant find
lotus leaves in the local oriental store, can I just use
some foil instead?

Thanks, Alison

That's one of my favorites. Unfortunately I have not been
able to find the lotus leaves even though there are quite
a few oriental shops around here. I do not think foil
would work because I think the recipe involves putting raw
- or maybe partly cooked -ingredients in the leaf and
simmering or steaming for a long time. You do not eat the
leaf, of course, but things will not cook the same in
foil. But, maybe someone who has actually tried it will
know better.

Peter

What about substituting corn husks? Easy to get.

Just an idea! :-)

K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

"There are many intelligent species in the universe, and
they are all owned by cats! -- Asimov

Quoted message said:

,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

cgi6.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗
&include=0&userid=katra

"JLove98905" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Some kinda sticky rice with pork

Quoted message said:

wrapped up in a lotus leaf.

This has prompted a vague memory-

I had something last time that was new to me....the
package was about palm sized- the rice inside had turned a
bit brownish/green from the leaf, and

I

Quoted message said:

thought maybe it was a tea leaf. But I have no idea if a
tea leaf can even

grow

Quoted message said:

that big! Could it have been a lotus leaf? It was very
tasty. How big is

this

Quoted message said:

item you're describing?

-Jen

-Jen

Half the people you know are below average. -Steven Wright

Ti leaves can get quite large! I had a tree outside my
window at my old house that had leaves about 3 feet long and
about 8 inches wide. People used to come over and pay me to
take my leaves for use in leis.

kili

"Katra" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article
<[email hidden]>, "Peter

Aitken said:

"Alison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Went to this dim sum place for lunch the other day,
and I tried a new thing (new for me, at least!).. Some
kinda sticky rice with pork wrapped up in a lotus
leaf. It was really nice, and the lotus leaf really
gave it this special aroma. Has anyone tried making
this at home ever? Any recipes to share for this? What
if I cant find lotus leaves in the local oriental
store, can I just use some foil instead?

Thanks, Alison

That's one of my favorites. Unfortunately I have not
been able to find

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

lotus leaves even though there are quite a few oriental
shops around

here. I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

do not think foil would work because I think the recipe
involves putting raw - or maybe partly cooked -
ingredients in the leaf and simmering or steaming for a
long time. You do not eat the leaf, of course, but
things will not cook the same in foil. But, maybe
someone who has actually

tried it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

will know better.

Peter

What about substituting corn husks? Easy to get.

Just an idea! :-)

They are too small. To make the Chinese sticky rice
"packaets" you need a leaf that is at least a foot across.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the [censored] from my email address before using.

On 26 Mar 2004 14:35:52 -0800, [email hidden] (Alison)

Quoted message said:

What if I cant find lotus leaves in the local oriental
store, can I just use some foil instead?

Make sure you look in the frozen section. You could also use
banana leaves (or even corn husks).

-sw

Peter Aitken said:

They are too small. To make the Chinese sticky rice
"packets" you need a leaf that is at least a foot across.

I see these packets as small as 2 square inches.

-sw

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steve Wertz said:

On 26 Mar 2004 14:35:52 -0800, [email hidden]

(Alison) said:

What if I cant find lotus leaves in the local oriental
store, can I just use some foil instead?

Make sure you look in the frozen section. You could also
use banana leaves (or even corn husks).

-sw

Corn husks. That was _my_ original suggestion thief! <lol>

K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

"There are many intelligent species in the universe, and
they are all owned by cats! -- Asimov

Quoted message said:

,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

cgi6.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗
&include=0&userid=katra

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Steve Wertz

Quoted message said:

On 26 Mar 2004 14:35:52 -0800, [email hidden]

(Alison) said:

What if I cant find lotus leaves in the local oriental
store, can I just use some foil instead?

Make sure you look in the frozen section. You could also
use banana leaves (or even corn husks).

-sw

Corn husks. That was _my_ original suggestion thief! <lol>

In that case, corn husks won't work.

-sw

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steve Wertz said:

Katra said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Steve Wertz

Quoted message said:

On 26 Mar 2004 14:35:52 -0800, [email hidden]
(Alison) wrote:

>What if I cant find lotus leaves in the local oriental
>store, can I just use some foil instead?

Make sure you look in the frozen section. You could
also use banana leaves (or even corn husks).

-sw

Corn husks. That was _my_ original suggestion
thief! <lol>

In that case, corn husks won't work.

-sw

Beast!!! <winks>

K

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

"There are many intelligent species in the universe, and
they are all owned by cats! -- Asimov

Quoted message said:

,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

cgi6.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗
&include=0&userid=katra

I think the reason why lotus leaves are used is for the
flavor and aroma! It wouldn't be the same dish with foil,
banana, taro ir ti leaves!!

--
Draarwen Littlestich of Mosskirk

Darrell Grainger said:

Alison said:

Went to this dim sum place for lunch the other day, and I
tried a new thing (new for me, at least!).. Some kinda
sticky rice with pork wrapped up in a lotus leaf. It was
really nice, and the lotus leaf really gave it this
special aroma. Has anyone tried making this at home ever?
Any recipes to share for this? What if I cant find lotus
leaves in the local oriental store, can I just use some
foil instead?

Hi Alison,

I know what you are talking about. My mother-in-law makes
it. Actually, if the pack is square in shape it is
probably lotus leaves. If it is trianglar in shape then it
is probably bamboo leaves.

You should be able find them at a chinese grocery store.
If you are in the Toronto area there is a supermarket
called T&T located on Bathurst north of Steeles (they are
in the Promenade Mall, north side). They would have the
lotus leaves. Actually, they have the stuff already
prepared so you just need to steam it.

The only thing I know about making the dish is that you
have to soak the leaves before you wrap the ingredients.
You can make it with all kinds of different ingredients.
It is usually sticky rice filled with something.
Traditional combinations are red bean paste, red bean
paste and a salty duck egg yolk or pork and [censored]
mushrooms.

I'm not sure if my mother-in-law is willing to part with
her recipe but I would imagine there are recipes out there
for it...

Just did a quick search on www.google.ca and found the
following link:
chinesefood.about.comblrecipe037.htmOpen ↗.
Don't know how good this is. This recipe indicates that
you can use aluminum foil instead of lotus leaves. My wife
tells me that it will absolutely change the dish if you
did not use lotus leaves.

I also remember being sent out for potato starch. Couldn't
find potato starch so I bought corn starch. I was told
that would not do and had to go out again for potato
starch. The recipe above calls for corn starch. 8^(