Lo mai chi

Lo mai chi is a chewy dessert from Cantonese cooking, popular in Hong Kong and southern China. A dough of glutinous rice flour and water or milk is steamed or cooked until stretchy, then wrapped around a sweet filling such as crushed peanuts and sugar, sweet bean paste, black sesame or coconut. Each ball is rolled in shredded coconut so it does not stick.

The texture is soft and elastic, similar to Japanese mochi or daifuku, and the coconut coating gives a light, fluffy outside. Lo mai chi are sold at bakeries and dim sum shops, sometimes tinted pink or green, and are best eaten the day they are made.