Wash and soak the 8-9 lotus leaves in water for around 45 minutes to an hour until it's soft. (In case some are broken.) Wash and soak 5 pieces of small medium sized dried Chinese mushrooms for 4-6 hours until it's soft. (Normally, I soak them the night before I need to cook them.) Rinse and soak ½ cup of dried small shrimp for 10-15 minutes. Then, drain the water and set a side. When the mushrooms are soft, slice them into strips.
Cut 2 links of Chinese sausage into slices. Then, cut 2 pieces of boneless and skinless chicken thighs into strips.
In a bowl, add chicken, 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon of white pepper and ½ teaspoon of sugar. Then, mix it well and let it marinate for 15-20 minutes.
At the same time, cook glutinous rice in a pressure cooker instant pot, add 1 cup of water and a rack.
Put a bowl into the instant pot and add 3 cup of washed and well drained glutinous rice and 2 cups of water. Remember to level the rice and make sure the water covers every rice. Close the lid and vent, then push the manual button to adjust time for 30 minutes at high pressure and natural release pressure.
While waiting for glutinous rice, start cooking the filling. Pour 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil into a non-stick pan, turn on medium high fire, add soaked dried small shrimp, Chinese sausage and mushrooms. Stir fried them for a minute or two. After that, add the marinated chicken and stir fry them. Then, add ½ cup of water, stir them a little bit and cover with a lid and let it cook for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Next, add another ½ cup of water stir fried and pour the cornstarch mixture (corn starch 2 teaspoons and water 2 teaspoons). Keep stir frying until the sauce is little thicken. Now, everything is ready for wrapping lo mai gai.
Brush some vegetable oil on lotus leaves to prevent the glutinous rice stick on the leaves. Put a layer of cooked glutinous rice on the lotus leaf like a rectangle shape.
Scoop some filling on the cooked glutinous rice. Personally, I like to add more filling.
Next, put the other layer of cooked glutinous rice on top of the filling. Then, fold it. You can see the video below for how to fold them.
After that, put lo mai gai into a bamboo basket and steam them over the top stove for 15-20 minutes, so the aroma of lotus leaves will come out. Besides, you can use instant pot to steam them as well.