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Shanghai-style · Vegetarian

Eight-treasure Sweet Rice

八宝饭 · Bā bǎo fàn

Sticky rice with sweet bean paste, dried fruit, and nuts. This simplified dessert uses a small selection of toppings rather than eight mandatory ingredients.

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Prep20 min
Cook60 min
Serves4
DifficultyMedium
Eight-treasure Sweet Rice — illustrative dish photo; ingredients may differ
Illustrative dish photography · credits below · Gary Stevens (Gary Soup) · CC BY 2.0
Recipe guide · not yet kitchen-testedAI-assisted editorial draft. Timing depends on your stove, pan, and ingredient size. Use the doneness checks below.
Extra: about 3 hours refrigerated soaking, then 5 minutes resting before unmoulding.

Let’s get cooking

  1. 01

    Soak safely

    Rinse glutinous rice and soak in water in the refrigerator for about 3 hours. Drain. This time is extra to the listed cooking time.

  2. 02

    Steam rice

    Spread in a cloth-lined steamer above boiling water. Steam 30–40 minutes, sprinkling a little hot water midway if dry, until grains are fully tender.

  3. 03

    Mix and line

    Mix hot rice with sugar and most of the oil. Brush a heatproof bowl with remaining oil and arrange dried fruit and optional walnuts on the bottom.

  4. 04

    Fill

    Press part of the rice into the bowl, add bean paste in the middle, then cover with remaining rice. Press gently.

  5. 05

    Steam and unmould

    Steam 15–20 minutes until hot throughout. Rest 5 minutes, then carefully invert onto a plate using oven mitts.

A little kitchen wisdom

Use glutinous rice, also called sticky rice, rather than ordinary long-grain rice. The name does not mean it contains gluten.

Can’t find an ingredient?

Walnuts: Omit nuts and add extra dried fruit if appropriate for your diet.

Cook safely

Cool cooked rice promptly in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C / 90°F. Reheat leftovers to 74°C / 165°F.

FoodSafety.gov guidance ↗