Breakfast Fuel for the New Year: Eight Treasure Congee
In Chinese medicine, we are a little obsessed with congee, a soupy rice porridge often eaten for breakfast. The well-cooked rice is easily digestible and supportive to our Spleen Qi, which is our digestive energy. Qi- and Blood-nourishing foods like dates, beans, and nuts will often be added to congee, and sometimes we’ll even prescribe medicinal herbs to be cooked in a congee base. In the depths of winter, when even our Bay Area mornings are cold (ok, relatively cold)—there’s nothing like having a nice bowl of warm congee before heading out to face the day.
A Laba Festival Tradition
In the Chinese calendar, Laba Festival falls on the eighth day of the last lunar month and marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year period. This year, Laba falls on January 26, 2026. Eight Treasure Congee is traditionally eaten for the Laba Festival and symbolizes good fortune (in China, eight is a lucky number).
If you’ve seen my post about my other winter breakfast obsession, black sesame porridge, then you already know I am a huge fan of The Vegan Chinese Cookbook by Hannah Che. I also love her Eight Treasure Congee recipe, and while I make it throughout the winter, I’ll be sure to cook up a batch for Laba Festival (I’ll take all the good fortune I can get).
Che notes that ingredients for this dish vary, and that one should feel free substituting in different components. Here in the East Bay, I found almost everything I needed at Berkeley Bowl (I ended up substituting medjool dates for jujubes, and dried pear for dried longan). I find it easiest to making by tossing all of the following in my slow cooker before bedtime and cooking all night on low.
1/4 cup black or forbidden rice
1/2 cup sticky rice
1/4 cup red adzuki beans
1/4 cup mung beans
1/4 cup pearl barley or Job’s tears
1/4 cup dried lotus seeds, walnuts, or almonds
1/4 cup walnut halves or raw peanuts
1/4 cup raisins
8 jujubes (or dates)
8 dried longan fruits (or other dried fruit)
1/4 cup dried goji berries
8 cups water
In the morning, stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup rock sugar (or other sweetener to taste). Serve warm, and enjoy your Qi- and Blood-nourishing leftovers for the rest of the week!
Dr. Lisa Franzetta is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist in Oakland, California. She enjoys vegan cooking and sharing plant-based kitchen medicine tips with her patients.