Eight Treasures Rice Pudding 八寶飯
This New Year I decided to make a treat that my grandma 奶奶 made for us when I was a little girl, the delectable Eight Treasures Rice Pudding 八寶飯, a traditional Chinese dessert that is a steamed glutinous rice pudding with a red bean paste center, beautifully decorated on top with all kinds of colorful dried fruits and nuts.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 45 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 3/4 cup glutinous rice 糯米, 300g
- 2 tbsp lard or virgin coconut oil
- 4-6 tbsp sugar
- 2 1/2 cups red bean paste 紅豆沙, 450g
- 7-10 candied lotus seeds 糖蓮子
- 10-12 dried pitted red dates
- 1/2 cup black raisins
- 10-15 green raisins
- 4-6 maraschino cherries
- 5-7 dried apricots
- 1/4 cup dried wolf berries 枸杞
- 20-30 pine nuts
Instructions
- 1
Soak glutinous rice for an hour in cool water.
- 2
Then pour out the water, refill with clean water, stir and pour out starchy water. Repeat until the water no longer cloudy. Drain.
- 3
Put rice in shallow steaming dish and add water to just cover. Steam over medium high heat for 45 mins or until rice is cooked through and fluffy. Remember to check steaming water level and add water if needed.
- 4
Scrape hot rice into mixing bowl, add in lard and sugar (to taste) and very gently mix together.
- 5
Generously oil the bowl you want to use as a mold.
- 6
Slice the maraschino cherries and dates in half lengthwise and the apricots in half width wise.
- 7
Add in the first layer of your pattern at the bottom and place an even layer of cooked rice over the decorations, about 1/2 inch thick, being careful not the disturb the decorations below.
- 8
Add in the next layer of decorations, again cover the decorations with even layer of approx 1/2 inch thick rice.
- 9
Repeat previous steps, building up the sides of your mold until you reach the top.
- 10
Add the red bean paste to the middle of pudding, leaving 1/2 inch space on top for the last layer of rice. Add last layer of rice.
- 11
Snuggly cover the top of the pudding with a well oiled plate . Steam over medium heat for one hour, checking the level of steaming water and refilling as necessary.
- 12
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- 13
Slowly lift off plate cover, using a blunt knife to help release any rice that is sticking. Use the knife again to carefully loosen the sides of the pudding from the bowl. Place serving plate upside down over the pudding, then flip over. Remove the mold. If mold is sticking, lift one corner and jiggle a bit, letting gravity help slide the pudding out.
- 14
Serve in small slices at room temperature. If needed rewarm the pudding by steaming for 10 mins.