Ba Bao Fan

Alternative names	Eight Treasure Rice; Eight-Treasure Rice; Babao Fan; eight treasures sticky rice
Pinyin	Bā bǎo fàn
Type	Sweet steamed glutinous rice with toppings
Course	Festive dessert / banquet sweet
Place of origin	China
Region or state	Nationwide Chinese festive cooking (Jiangnan banquet sweets prominent); Chinese New Year and wedding tables
Other	Sweet sticky rice mold — not Eight Treasure Porridge (babao zhou)

Ba Bao Fan (Simplified Chinese: 八宝饭; Traditional Chinese: 八寶飯; Pinyin: Bā bǎo fàn; also Eight Treasure Rice or eight-treasure sticky rice) is a Chinese festive dessert of sweet glutinous rice steamed in a bowl or mold lined with "eight treasures"—an auspicious assortment that may include red dates, lotus seeds, candied fruit, raisins, melon seeds, and red-bean paste—then inverted onto a plate and often finished with a sweet syrup. Soft claims that the toppings must be exactly eight fixed SKUs are folk; "eight" signals abundance. It is not Eight Treasure Porridge (八宝粥 / babao zhou), a boiled mixed-grain porridge.^[1]

Characteristics

Glossy molded dome or bowl shape; colorful dried-fruit pattern on top; sticky sweet rice; warm serve with syrup in many banquet styles.

Ingredients (overview)

Glutinous rice; sugar or sweetening; red-bean paste; dried fruits and seeds (dates, lotus seeds, candied winter melon, raisins, etc.). Overview only.

History and culture

Banquet and Lunar New Year sweet across many Chinese regions; Jiangnan restaurant versions are widely photographed. English usually says "eight treasure rice" or "eight-treasure rice." See Eight Treasure Porridge, Nian Gao, and Shanghai Food.

Serving and variations

Festive dessert after banquet mains; New Year home sweet. See Eight Treasure Porridge, Nian Gao, and Tangyuan.

References

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