Laba congee (Eight Treasures Porridge)

Laba congee, also known as Eight Treasures Porridge or Babao Porridge, is a ceremonial congee dish eaten on the eighth day of the twelfth month in the Chinese calendar. The day on which it is traditionally eaten is commonly known as the Laba Festival. In the past, people ate the porridge to keep warm and celebrate the Laba Festival. Today it has been a home-style snack in everyday life. Because of all kinds of nutrient-rich ingredients contained in the congee and the easy cooking method, Eight Treasures Porridge now is popular throughout China. If well cooked, the gruel tastes sweet, soft and smooth, not greasy at all.

Traditionally laba congee is made with eight ingredients; nowadays, however, more than a dozen are used, including glutinous rice, millet, red and green beans, lotus seeds, dried dates, chestnuts, peanuts, almonds and walnuts. It is a nutritious winter food. The classic encyclopedia of herbal medicine Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica) says that rice porridge “increases the life force, produces saliva, nourishes the spleen and stomach, and resolves sweating due to weak constitution or health.”

When the custom of eating laba congee was passed down to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the laba ceremony in Beijing’s Yonghegong Lamasery became the most celebrated event. In the temple there is an ancient bronze pot, two meters across and a meter and a half high, four tons in weight, designed especially for laba congee.

According to historical records, Yonghegong made six pots of the congee for the festival, each of which used 80 kg millet, 50 kg coarse cereals, 50 kg dried fruits and 5,000 kg firewood. The first pot was offered to the Buddha; the second went to the emperor and the imperial court; the third to imperial kinsmen and the abbot of the temple; the fourth to senior officials; the fifth to members of the lamasery, and the last pot to commoners.

Ingredients:

kidney beans, sorghum rice, barley, longans, oats (avena sativa), rice, millet, peanuts, mung beans and black rice

Note:

1. 15 dried longans are needed. 30g of each of the rest ingredients should be prepared. These ingredients serve 2-3 persons.

2. Except the ingredients mentioned above, some others can also be added to make more tasty porridge, such as lotus, raisins, red dates, red beans, Chinese yam and wolfberry.

Preparation Work:

Soak the black rice and peanuts for 3-4 hours in advance.

Methods:

Step 1: Clean all ingredients and remove the water. Pour them into an electric cooker and add in more water.

Step 2: Turn on heat and boil the mixture for about 20 minutes. When the steam comes out, remove the cover in case the porridge overflows.

Step 3: Boil for another 30-40 minutes until the congee turns pasty with small bubbles. Or pick out some black rice or peanuts to see if they have been totally cooked.

Tips:

1. People with diabetes are suggested not to add much sugar when having the gruel.

2. Don't eat much canned Eight Treasures Porridge, because they usually contain preservative.

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