Sweet Eight-Treasure Rice

Sweet Eight-Treasure Rice

　　Sweet Eight-Treasure Rice is a delicately prepared dish made from eight nutritious ingredients, including glutinous rice, walnuts, raisins, red dates, longan, coix seed, white sugar, lard, and red and green shredded candied fruits. The selection of these ingredients is quite particular: glutinous rice benefits the spleen and boosts energy; walnuts aid digestion, enrich blood, moisten lungs, and nourish the spirit; raisins help enrich blood, strengthen intelligence, benefit tendons and bones, aid digestion, promote saliva production, and relieve thirst; red dates are known for the saying “Eat three dates a day, and your looks will stay forever young”; longan is a widely recognized tonic food; coix seed helps enhance immunity. With these ingredients combined, the Eight-Treasure Rice is naturally sweet, rich in flavor, unique, and nutritionally complete.

　　The preparation process of Eight-Treasure Rice is very particular. First, ingredients that are not easy to cook—such as lotus seeds and coix seed—are soaked for about an hour, then cooked in a small amount of water with white sugar until done, and set aside. When cooking, it’s important to control the heat to avoid overcooking, which may affect the appearance.

　　The glutinous rice is washed and steamed in a steamer, with strict control over moisture to achieve the ideal softness and firmness for shaping. The cooked glutinous rice is then mixed while hot with lard and white sugar, along with half of the prepared ingredients such as walnuts, red dates, longan, and coix seed.

　　A large bowl is used, first coated with a layer of lard on the inside. The remaining red dates, raisins, walnuts, and red and green shredded candied fruits are arranged at the bottom and along the edges of the bowl. Then, the mixed glutinous rice is scooped into the bowl.

　　Finally, the bowl is inverted onto a larger plate, the bowl is removed, and the Sweet Eight-Treasure Rice appears like a domed hill on the plate, with the beautiful red and green shredded candied fruits on the top. Not only is the Eight-Treasure Rice sweet and delicious, but it also contains a variety of nutrients, making it a highly favored dessert among people in Sha County.