Eight Treasure Rice 八寶飯 (bābǎofàn) is a traditional Chinese dessert that consists of eight different types of fruits and nuts, sticky rice, and a filling (usually red bean paste). Eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture because the pronunciation sounds like the character for fortune thus the name and the number of ingredients.
You can, of course, change the toppings (or even reduce the number of them!) and swap out the filling based on your own preferences. The most common fillings include goji berries, jujubes (aka red dates or Chinese dates), and walnuts, but really -- whatever flavors you love that you think go well together works.
Note: you will need a steamer and a heatproof bowl for this recipe.
Directions
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Rinse and soak the rice. Rinse the rice until the water is no longer cloudy. You should soak the rice overnight, but if you want to reduce the time use hot water and let it soak for a minimum of three hours. If you can, change out the hot water every hour.
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Prepare the rice. Strain the rice and add about 2-3 tablespoons of sugar to your rice and mix well. (See note below about the sweetness!)
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Assemble the ingredients in your heatproof bowl. Lightly butter (or use a neutral oil) the inside of the bowl. Arrange fruits and nuts into a single layer at the bottom of your bowl. Add half of the rice to the bowl carefully and flatten.
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Finish assembly. Add the red bean paste and shape into a smaller flat circle on top of the rice. Add the remaining rice and flatten. Make sure you cover up all the red bean and leave about ¼” of space to the rim as the rice will expand when steamed. Spoon in some water until all the rice is covered.
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Steam the bowl for an hour on medium heat. Check occasionally to make sure there’s still water in the pot. When it’s done, let it cool for at least 10 minutes.
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(Optional) Make a simple syrup. You can make this step when there’s about 5-10 minutes left. Take the 1 cup of sugar and add 1 cup of water to a pot. Cook over medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Add more sugar or water until it hits your desired sweetness level.
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Remove the rice from the bowl and serve. Once the rice has cooled, run a knife along the edge of the bowl. Place a serving plate on the bowl, flip, and then slowly remove the bowl so that the rice stays on the plate. Slice and serve like a cake. If you made the simple syrup, don’t forget to have it on the side for everyone to drizzle on themselves!
Notes
Dried fruits and nuts
This dish requires just a handful of fruits and nuts, so keep that in mind before you go out and buy all the things. If you don't have these on hand and you don't want to buy them individually, you can look into using trail mix to help supplement all or most of these items.
If you plan to use jujubes, make sure you soak them beforehand and take out the seed inside. And if you want to buy goji berries, remember that they are significantly cheaper at an Asian market than at Whole Foods! 😉
Sweetness level
In Sue's opinion, the best kind of dessert are the ones that aren't too sweet. Her recommendation would be to keep the amount of sugar you add to the rice low and making a sweeter simple syrup on the side for people to drizzle on themselves.
