How to Make Eight Treasures Rice

The types of food eaten during the Chinese New Year are important. They symbolize how the rest of the year will progress for you and your family. This rice dish is full of the foods which will improve the outlook for the year. The dish is also tasty at other times of the year. Follow these steps to make it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Wooden spoon or dedicated wok ladle
• Serving platter
• Wok or large 12-inch saute pan
• Serving spoon
• Above ingredients
• Rounded bowl for molding
• 2 cups long-grain white rice (jasmine or basmati)
• 3 cups sticky short-grain rice (calrose)
• 6 cups clean water
• 2 tbsp. peanut oil
• 6 Chinese dried mushrooms
• 2 dried Chinese sausages, also called
• 1 boneless chicken thigh
• 1 tbsp. dried shrimp
• ½ cup fresh lotus seeds
• ½ cup diced onion
• ½ cup diced bamboo shoots
• 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
• ½ tsp Chinese five spices powder
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• Salt to taste
• 2 scallions

Chinese New Year Eight Treasures Rice

1. Four hours before you start cooking this dish, soak the lotus seeds in cold water for three to four hours. Once they've soaked enough, they'll be soft to the touch. Drain the seeds from the water.
2. Soak the mushrooms for 20 minutes in warm water. If the mushrooms float to the top, set a small shallow dish on top of the mushrooms to ensure they stay submerged. Squeeze excess water from the mushrooms. Pull or cut off the tough stems. Finely dice the mushrooms caps. Set aside.
3. At the same time you soak the mushrooms, soak the shrimp in a different bowl of warm water. Use the same method to keep the shrimp submerged. Once they're finished soaking, they'll be flexible. Drain the shrimp from the water.
4. Cut the dried sausage and chicken meat into ½-inch cubes. Set aside.
5. Combine the rice into a large bowl and wash the rice thoroughly three times. Replace the water completely, until the washing water is relatively clear. For the last washing, let the rice sit in the water for 15 minutes to absorb some of the water.
6. Over medium-high heat, heat the peanut oil in a wok until it’s almost smoking.
   
7. Add the mushrooms, the Chinese sausages, chicken, dried shrimp, lotus seeds, onion, and bamboo shoots to the wok and rapidly stir-fry them using a wooden spoon or dedicated wok ladle for approximately 1-2 minutes.
   
8. Once the onion begins to look translucent, add the soy sauce, Chinese five spices, sesame oil, and salt. Mix the spice and salt well.
9. In a large sauce pan--at least 5 quarts--combine the rinsed rice and the water.
10. Over medium-high heat, bring the the rice to a rapid boil. Just when it boils, turn the heat to low and cover the pot.
11. When most of the water has been absorbed, after approximately 10 minutes, add the stir-fried ingredients. Mix them through the rice.
12. Simmer the rice mixture covered on low heat for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.
13. While the mixture is standing, finely slice the scallions for a garnish. Set aside.
14. Stir in the scallions and tightly pack the rice into a rounded bowl. Let the rice sit in the bowl for 10 minutes to help it form to the bowl’s contours.
15. Place your serving dish upside down on the bowl. Flip the bowl and serving dish over, inverting the bowl. Take the bowl off and the rice should be nicely molded into a perfect mound.
16. Serve and enjoy!

Tips & Warnings

• If the rice seems to have not absorbed at least half of the water after 10 minutes, drain some of the water out before adding the stir-fry mixture.
• You can make this recipe without the dried shrimp but add a ¼ tsp of fish sauce to the stir-fry mixture when you're frying it.
• Lotus seeds, Chinese sausage and dried Chinese black mushrooms can be found in a well-stocked Asian market. If you don’t have one near you, search online for a website that will ship these ingredients to you.
• You can buy jarred lotus seeds in water which don't have to be soaked for four hours. These seeds taste nearly as good as fresh ones.
• If you can’t find these ingredients, you can substitute roasted fresh chestnuts for the lotus seeds, chorizo for the Chinese sausage and dried porcini mushrooms for the black Chinese mushrooms. The taste will differ from the original recipe, though.
• If you want, you can cook the rice in a rice cooker. Follow the directions for your device. If you do use a rice cooker, add the stir-fry mixture at the same time interval as described above. Make sure to turn your cooker back to cook instead of warm after you add the mixture.
• If you're unsure if some of your guests are allergic to peanuts, fry the stir-fry mixture in canola or vegetable oil.
• When you're frying the stir-fry mixture, beware of sputtering oil. Make sure to wear a long sleeve shirt while using the wok.