How to Make Laba Congee
No matter where Laba congee is served, it naturally simmers through the year's sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy flavors. — Rosemary, "Laba Congee"
Laba congee, also known as Seven-Treasure Five-Flavor Congee, Buddha's Porridge, or Everyone's Meal, is a porridge made by simmering a variety of ingredients. It is rich in carbohydrates, phosphorus, magnesium, and various vitamins. It not only replenishes daily energy but also contains lotus seeds, which have a calming effect on the heart and mind, making it suitable for those under high work pressure. Excluding preparation time, it generally takes only 3 hours to complete.
Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★★
Essential Ingredients and Tools
- Drinking water
- Rice
- Glutinous rice
- Peanuts
- Red beans
- Red dates (jujubes)
- Congee pot (regular pots may burn at the bottom; pressure cookers are recommended if available)
- Medium-sized glass bowl (or other medium-sized stainless steel containers)
- Several small bowls
Optional Ingredients
Due to the diverse recipes for Laba congee, you can choose the following ingredients according to your personal taste preferences.
- Coix seed (Job's tears)
- Black rice
- Millet
- Lotus seeds
- Mung beans
- Soybeans
- Peas
- Red kidney beans
- Longan (dried longan fruit, pitted)
- Chestnuts
- Shelled walnuts
- Raisins
- Rock sugar (or white sugar, for seasoning)
Measurements
For one serving (three small bowls), the quantities are as follows:
- Drinking water: 1 L
- Rice: 50 g
- Glutinous rice: 50 g
- Coix seed: 50 g
- Black rice: 50 g
- Millet: 50 g
- Lotus seeds: 25 g
- Mung beans: 25 g
- Red beans: 25 g
- Peanuts: 25 g
- Soybeans: 25 g
- Peas: 25 g
- Red dates: 25 g
- Longan: 25 g
- Chestnuts: 25 g
- Shelled walnuts: 25 g
- Raisins: 25 g
- Red kidney beans: 25 g
- Rock sugar: 10–25 g
The quantities of the above ingredients can be adjusted according to your taste preferences. For rice-based ingredients, it is not recommended to exceed 150 g, and for other beans, it is not recommended to exceed 50 g.
Instructions
- Rinse the mung beans, red beans, peanuts, soybeans, peas, and kidney beans thoroughly in advance. Place them in a clean glass bowl and fill it with 3/4 of its capacity with drinking water. Soak overnight (or for at least 8 hours).
- Rinse the rice, glutinous rice, coix seeds, black rice, millet, and lotus seeds thoroughly in advance. Place them in a clean glass bowl and fill it with 3/4 of its capacity with drinking water. Soak for 3 hours.
- Drain the water from the glass bowl containing the mung beans, red beans, peanuts, soybeans, peas, and kidney beans prepared in step 1. Transfer the remaining ingredients into a porridge pot. Add 1 liter of drinking water (or enough to cover the ingredients by the width of a thumb). Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water from the glass bowl containing the rice, glutinous rice, coix seeds, black rice, millet, and lotus seeds prepared in step 2. Add the remaining ingredients to the porridge pot. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 60 minutes.
- Wash the red dates, longan, chestnuts, walnuts, raisins (slice the red dates into small pieces), and rock sugar. Add them to the pot, cover, and simmer on low heat for 60 minutes.
- Once the porridge reaches the desired consistency, turn off the heat, serve, and enjoy.
Additional Notes
- When adding ingredients to the porridge pot, stir well to ensure even distribution. Keep an eye on the water level; if it drops below the ingredients, add water immediately.
- Control the heat carefully; do not use too high heat. Stir periodically. If using a regular pot, it is recommended to boil water first before adding ingredients. Stir until it boils again, then reduce to low heat to prevent the bottom from burning. If possible, it is recommended to use a pressure cooker or a dedicated porridge pot.
- References: The Most Authentic Laba Porridge Recipe, Sweet and Soft Success in One Go! - Bilibili, Laba Porridge (Porridge made with various ingredients on Laba Festival) - Baidu Baike
If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvement while following this guide, please submit an Issue or Pull request.