Photo by Farideh Sadeghin
Servings: 2The 'eight treasures' are the fruits, nuts and seeds used to ornament the dish. Traditionally, the pudding is enriched with lard, but I prefer to use coconut oil, which gives it a delicate, enticing aroma and makes it suitable for vegetarians.
Prep time: 4 hours
Total time: 2 hours
Ingredients
½ cup confectioners sugar, plus 3–4 tablespoons
12 ounces|340 grams lard or coconut oil, or 4 tablespoons groundnut oil, plus a little extra
½ cup red bean paste
an assortment of dried fruits and nuts or seeds for decoration (such as jujubes, apricots, lotus seeds, or pine nuts)
Directions
- Rinse the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear. Cover it in cold water and soak for at least 4 hours or overnight. If you are using very dry dried fruits, cover them in hot water and leave to soften. Cut any large fruits such as jujubes in half and remove the stones.
- Line a steamer basket with muslin. Drain the rice and put it in the steamer, spreading it out in an even layer, but without packing it tightly. Steam over a high flame for 20 minutes, until tender. While the rice is still hot, turn it out into a bowl, add 3–4 tablespoons sugar to taste, along with the lard, coconut oil or groundnut oil, and mix thoroughly.
- Grease the inside of a heatproof bowl with a little lard, coconut oil or groundnut oil. Arrange the fruits and nuts or seeds in a pretty pattern around the base of the bowl. Carefully place about half the rice in the bowl. Take the red bean paste and pat it with your hands into a circle that will fit onto the layer of rice, with a little space around the edge. Put the bean paste on the rice, then fill the bowl with the rest of the rice and press it down over the bean paste to create a flat surface. Cover the bowl with a small plate and steam over a high flame for 25 minutes.
- While the pudding is steaming, melt the remaining 3 ½ ounces|100 grams sugar in 3 ½ ounces|100 ml water over a gentle flame, then boil for 1–2 minutes until syrupy. When the rice is ready, remove the plate and replace it with a serving plate. Carefully invert the bowl and turn the pudding out onto the plate. Pour over the syrup and serve.