Traditional Chinese Food: Eight Treasures Rice

       Beautiful color, fragrance, and meaning: Lotus seeds are transformed from harmony and harmony in the Eight Treasure Pictures, symbolizing marriage harmony and good; Longyuan symbolizes reunion; Jinju symbolizes luck; red dates symbolize early birth of noble children; honey cherry, honeydew melon symbolizes sweetness; Coix seed is transformed from crane, symbolizing longevity, elegance and purity; Guaziren is a variant of drum board, symbolizing regular life, safe and disaster-free. Red plum is the same color as Longmen, which means encouraging progress and wishing success. Green plum symbolizes longevity. Later, the ingredients of Babao rice became simpler and simpler, and preserved fruits of various colors were used instead of preserved kumquat, honey cherry, honeydew gourd and red and green plum shreds. Later, osmanthus and other spices were added, implying that "gold (used osmanthus must be gold) and jade (glutinous rice is jade white) are all over the hall".

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup glutinous rice, 300g

2 tbsp lard (or virgin coconut oil)

4-6 tbsp sugar

2 1/2 cups red bean paste, 450g

1 bowl for using as the mold

7-10 candied lotus seeds

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 wolfberries

20-30 pine nuts

Directions:

Soak glutinous rice for an hour in cool water.  Then pour out the water, refill with clean water, stir and pour out starchy water.  Repeat until the water is no longer cloudy.  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.  Scrape hot rice into mixing bowl, add in lard and sugar (to taste) and very gently mix together.

Generously oil the bowl you want to use as a mold.  Slice the maraschino cherries and dates in half lengthwise and the apricots in half width wise.  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" thick, being careful not the disturb the decorations below.  Add in the next layer of decorations, again cover the decorations with an even layer of approx 1/2" thick rice.  Repeat previous steps, building up the sides of your mold until you reach the top.  Add the red bean paste to the middle of pudding, leaving 1/2" space on top for the last layer of rice.  Add the last layer of rice.

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.  Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.  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 the 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 side the pudding out.

Serve in small slices at room temperature or rewarm the pudding by steaming for 10 mins.  Let cool and wrap in cling film to store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Enjoy it!