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Learn how to make soft and chewy glutinous rice balls filled with sweet crumbled peanut filling. The contrast of texture between the mochi and the crunchy peanut fillings is so awesome!
What is lo mai chi?
Lo mai chi in Cantonese is also known as nuo mi chi in Mandarin. It’s a glutinous rice dumpling filled with crumbled ground peanuts and sugar. The dumplings are then coated with desiccated coconut or toasted rice flour. I grew up with the dumplings coated with toasted rice flour. This Chinese pastry is popular across Asia and usually also served at Dim Sum restaurant or you may see them in Asian bakery shops.
Ingredients
1. Glutinous rice flour
Glutinous rice flour is also known as mochiko flour/sweet rice flour. This is NOT the same with regular rice flour
2. Wheat starch
Wheat starch is NOT the same with wheat flour. This is the starch extracted from wheat. If you cannot find any, you can use cornstarch, though texture might not be as good compared to using wheat starch, but still acceptable
3. Coconut milk
I use canned coconut milk. Don’t use coconut milk sold for beverage
4. Oil
Use any neutral-tasting oil
5. Peanuts
I suggest getting roasted unsalted peanuts
6. Rice flour
This is a regular rice flour, NOT glutinous rice flour
7. Pandan leaves
The pandan leaves impart nice aroma to the rice flour
How to make lo mai chi
1. Put the rice flour and knotted pandan leaves on a dry pan without any oil. Stir fry over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Let it cool down completely while you prepare other things
2. I bought roasted peanuts. If the peanuts are not roasted, put them on a dry pan without any oil and toast over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Let them cool down completely before grinding them. Put the peanuts in a food processor and then pulse several times to finely chop them. Don’t chop too finely. We still want a bit of texture
3. Combine the peanuts, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Set aside
4. Bring water in the steamer to a boil. Combine glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add coconut milk and oil. Whisk to combine until the batter is smooth. Strain the mixture if necessary to make sure there are no lumps
5. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl or deep platter lined with parchment paper (for easy removal). Alternatively, you can spray with non-stick cooking spray too. Cover the bowl with a foil to prevent water condensation from dripping on the batter. If you use a bamboo steamer, you can skip the foil part. Put in a steamer and steam over medium heat for 20 minutes
6. You’ll see some liquid pooling on top of the steamed dough. It’s normal. It will dry up as it cools down. Insert a skewer into the dough and it shouldn’t be liquid anymore. Remove from the steamer and cover with a clean cloth and let it cool down for 15 minutes
7. Transfer the dough to a lightly-oiled surface. Lightly oil your palms too and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until it’s smooth and shiny. You don’t need to knead for a long time
8. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions (I only made half portion in this step-by-step photo), or roughly about 50 grams each. Cover them with a plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out
9. Work with one dough at a time. Flatten the dough with your palm to about 1/3 inch (1 cm) thick circle
10. Put about 1 tablespoon of the peanut filling in the center of the dough. Gather the edge towards the center and pinch to seal the dough. Roll the dough ball in between your palms to smooth it into a nice round ball
11. Roll the ball in the toasted rice flour you prepare earlier. Dust off any excess flour and put in a cupcake liner. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough and filling
12. Lo mai chi is best served on the same day they are made. You can keep them until the next day at room temperature, stored in an air-tight container, but keep in mind that there is sugar in the filling and the sugar melts over time, making the filling wet and the peanut will lose the crunch, but still tasty nonetheless
Did you make this recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Lo Mai Ci / Nuo Mi Chi (Chinese Peanut Mochi)
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 150 gr roasted peanut
- 50 gr sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
For the dough:
- 200 gr glutinous rice flour
- 35 gr wheat starch (NOT wheat flour)
- 40 gr sugar
- 300 ml coconut milk
- 15 gr oil
Coating (you can use rice flour or coconut):
- 50 gr rice flour
- 1 pandan leaves
- ½ cup Desiccated coconut
Instructions
Prepare the coating:
- Put the rice flour and knotted pandan leaves on a dry pan without any oil. Stir fry over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Let it cool down completely while you prepare other things
Prepare the filling:
- I bought roasted peanuts. If the peanuts are not roasted, put them on a dry pan without any oil and toast over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Let them cool down completely before grinding them
- Put the peanuts in a food processor and then pulse several times to finely chop them. Don't chop too finely. We still want a bit of texture
- Combine the peanuts, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Set aside
Prepare the dough:
- Bring water in the steamer to a boil. Combine glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add coconut milk and oil. Whisk to combine until the batter is smooth. Strain the mixture if necessary to make sure there are no lumps
- Transfer to a heat-proof bowl or deep platter lined with parchment paper (for easy removal). Alternatively, you can spray with non-stick cooking spray too
- Cover the bowl with a foil to prevent water condensation from dripping on the batter. If you use a bamboo steamer, you can skip the foil part. Put in a steamer and steam over medium heat for 20 minutes
- You'll see some liquid pooling on top of the steamed dough. It's normal. It will dry up as it cools down. Insert a skewer into the dough and it shouldn't be liquid anymore. Remove from the steamer and cover with a clean cloth and let it cool down for 15 minutes
Knead the dough:
- Transfer the dough to a lightly-oiled surface. Lightly oil your palms too and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until it's smooth and shiny. You don't need to knead for a long time
Fill the dough:
- Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, or roughly about 50 grams each. Cover them with a plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out
- Work with one dough at a time. Flatten the dough with your palm to about 1/3 inch (1 cm) thick circle. Put about 1 tablespoon of the peanut filling in the center of the dough. Gather the edge towards the center and pinch to seal the dough. Roll the dough ball in between your palms to smooth it into a nice round ball
- Roll the ball in the toasted rice flour you prepare earlier. Dust off any excess flour and put in a cupcake liner. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough and filling
Storage:
- Lo mai chi is best served on the same day they are made. You can keep them until the next day at room temperature, stored in an air-tight container, but keep in mind that there is sugar in the filling and the sugar melts over time, making the filling wet and the peanut will lose the crunch, but still tasty nonetheless.
