Eight Treasure Porridge Dessert

A traditional Chinese dessert analogous to rice pudding. The eight treasures refers to the 8 different nutritious ingredients that go into it. It is traditionally eaten on Laba festival (December 8th on the lunar calendar). Ingredients can be easily substituted but just remember there should be 8 main ingredients (for namesake), and you should adjust the time at which the ingredient goes into the pot to ensure everything is cooked just right at the end. Other common ingredients include jujube, chestnuts, dried dates, dried longan meat, other dried fruits, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, melon-seed meat, pine nuts, lotus seeds, sesame seeds, kidney beans, black bean, and many others.

Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
2 hrs 5 mins
Additional Time:
3 hrs
Total Time:
5 hrs 15 mins
Servings:
10
Yield:
10 servings

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup dried small red beans (adzuki beans)

  • water to cover

  • ¼ cup barley

  • ½ cup glutinous sweet rice

  • ¼ cup dried mung bean

  • ¼ cup oats

  • ¼ cup millet

  • ¼ cup dried small pearl tapioca

  • ½ cup brown sugar, or more to taste

  • ¼ cup raisins

Directions

  1. Place red beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 3 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse.

  2. Combine red beans and barley in a pot; add enough water to fill 1/2 the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer until beans and barley are tender, about 1 hour.

  3. Mix rice into bean-barley mixture; add more water if it has all been absorbed. Cook rice mixture for 20 minutes. Add mung beans; cook for 20 minutes.

  4. Mix oats, millet, and tapioca into rice mixture; cook, stirring every 5 minutes, until all the grains are softened, about 20 minutes. Add more water to reach desired thickness of porridge. Stir brown sugar and raisins into porridge; cook for 5 minutes more. Remove pot from heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Serve hot or chilled.

Cook's Note:

You may need to visit a Chinese store to find some of these ingredients.

There are many versions. This version uses many different dried grains; other versions are more fruit-heavy.

Test if the red bean and barley are starting to get soft after simmering 1 hour. If not, keep cooking and test every 20 minutes until they are.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

164 Calories
1g Fat
36g Carbs
4g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 10
Calories 164
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 1g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 1%
Sodium 7mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 36g 13%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 4g 9%
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 24mg 2%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 199mg 4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.

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