Eight Treasure Porridge

Eight Treasure Porridge (Simplified Chinese: 八宝粥; Traditional Chinese: 八寶粥; Pinyin: Bābǎo zhōu) is a sweet mixed porridge made with an assortment of grains, beans, nuts, and dried fruits—the "eight treasures" being symbolic rather than a fixed ingredient list. Canned and homemade versions are common year-round snacks.

Characteristics

Texture is thick and soft; sweetness comes from sugar or sweet dried fruit. Components may include glutinous rice, millet, red beans, mung beans, peanuts, lotus seeds, jujube, and raisins. Related Laba porridge customs overlap seasonally.

Ingredients (overview)

A mix of rice and/or millet, beans, nuts, and dried fruits cooked long with water and sweetened. Commercial canned "八宝粥" is widely sold as a convenience snack.

History and culture

The dish sits at the intersection of festive mixed-grain porridge traditions and everyday packaged Chinese Rice Snack culture. It is related to but not identical with regional Laba congee customs; see also savory Congee.

Serving and variations

Eaten warm or chilled as breakfast or snack. See Chinese Rice Snack, Congee, and Chinese Snack.

See also

• Laba Congee

• Chinese Rice Snack
• Congee
• Chinese Snack
• Nian Gao
• Zongzi
• List of dishes (A-Z)