Lotus-leaf rice with sweet corn, Job's tears & chicken
Rice with sweet corn, Job's tears and chicken, steamed in a fragrant lotus leaf — light, never greasy, and wrapped the night before.
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves 2
- Steam
- Medium
Why it suits you: Phlegm-Dampness brings a heavy body and phlegm. Autumn Equinox is getting drier, but Hong Kong is still warm and muggy, so lotus leaf, Job's tears and corn strengthen digestion and clear damp, while lean chicken and a moderate portion keep it light.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 50 min- 1Soak the Job's tears for 2 hours (or overnight), then cook with the rice in the rice cooker, using your usual amount of water.
- 2Soak the lotus leaf in hot water for 15 minutes until pliable, rinse, wipe dry and cut into two large pieces.
- 3Cut the chicken into 1.5 cm dice and marinate with the soy sauce, cornflour, ginger and tangerine peel for 10 minutes.
- 4Mix the rice with the chicken, corn and peas. Divide between the two leaf pieces and fold into square parcels, seam side down.
- 5Once the water boils, steam over high heat for 20 minutes, until the chicken is white and cooked through.
Cautions
- Avoid Job's tears in pregnancy — use white hyacinth beans or all white rice instead.
Chef's tips
- Lunchbox: wrap and steam the night before, then refrigerate; reheat in the leaf for 3 minutes for the best fragrance.
- Dried lotus leaves are sold at herbal shops and dried-goods stores; kept dry, a stack lasts for months.
The TCM view
Lotus leaf is bitter and neutral and clears summer-heat and damp; Job's tears are sweet, bland and cool and drain damp; sweet corn is sweet and neutral and settles the middle; aged tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm and moves qi to resolve phlegm; lean chicken builds strength without grease. Draining plus qi-moving clears damp while protecting the spleen.
