Savoury Eight Treasure Rice for Lunar New Year
This Eight Treasure Rice is my savoury interpretation of a traditional Lunar New Year dish inspired by the concept of “Ba Bao” (Eight Treasures). Featuring eight colourful toppings arranged over fragrant rice, the number eight symbolises good fortune, prosperity, and abundance. It’s ameaningful dish for a New Year’s reunion dinner, with each topping representing variety, harmony, and hopes for a plentiful year ahead.
Ingredients
RICE
- 300 g Jasmine rice
- 375 ml water Rice-to-water ratio: 1 : 1.25
- A few drops of vegetable oil
EIGHT TREASURE TOPPINGS (about a handful of each)
- 50 g edamame beans
- 50 g amboo shoots
- 50 g tenderstem broccoli
- 70 g babycorn, sliced
- 8 prawns, peeled and deveined. Keep the tails if you like. about 160g
- 70 g carrots, julienned
- 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 100 g diced pancetta or Chinese sausage, if available, for a more traditional flavour.
SEASONING & COOKING
- Vegetable oil for cooking
- Cooking wine for marinating
- Soy sauce for seasoning
- Salt to taste
- Sugar to taste
- Sweet soy sauce for drizzling
Instructions
- Cook the rice : Rinse the jasmine rice several times until the water runs clear, then drain well. Transfer the rice to a cast iron pot and add the water. Drizzle in a few drops of vegetable oil — this helps the rice grains stay separate and glossy.Cook over medium-high heat until bubbles start to appear around the edges (about 5–7 minutes). Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid,and cook for 10–12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for a further 10 minutes.(Alternatively, cook the rice using your usual method,such as a rice cooker.)
- Preparethe vegetables : While the rice is cooking, blanch the edamame, bamboo shoots, baby corn, andtenderstem broccoli in boiling water until just tender. Drain well and season lightly with salt.
- Sautéthe other vegetables : Heat a little oil in a pan and stir-fry the carrots and shiitake mushrooms until cooked through. Season the carrots with a pinch of salt and the shiitake mushrooms with a splash of soy sauce.
- Prepare the proteins : Pan-fry the diced pancetta over medium heat, adding 1 tablespoon of sugar to help it caramelise, until golden and crisp.Marinate the prawns briefly with a pinch of salt and asplash of cooking wine, then pan-fry until just cooked through. Set aside.
- Assemblethe dish : Once the rice is ready, transfer it to a serving bowl or wooden container. Arrangeall eight toppings evenly over the rice, letting the colours stand out.
- Serve: Drizzle with sweet soy sauce and serve warm. Mixe verything together just before eating and enjoy.
Video
Notes
