Eight treasure rice pudding

Servings: 4

1 ½ cups glutinous rice
1 ½ cups cold water
½ cup sweet red bean paste
20 candied lotus seeds
5 red dates
20 peanuts
20 longan pulp or white raisins
30 brown raisins
4 pieces squash candies or candied citron
¼ cup candied orange peel
3 Tablespoons shortning
5 Tablespoons sugar

Cornstarch paste:
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon cold water

Directions:

1. Wash the rice in water until clean, place in a deep pot, add 1½ cups of cold water, bring to a boil in high heat and continue to cook until the water is absorbed. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot with a lid and cook slowly for another 10 minutes.
2. Remove the cooked rice to a bowl, add 2 Tablespoons of shortning, 2 Tablespoons of sugar and mix well.
3. Using 6" bowl, brush the bottom with shortning, lay all of the ingredients except rice in rows or other designs. Squash candy and orange peel must be cut into small pieces first.
4. Mix the cooked glutinous rice, and carefully place 2/3 of it in the bowl covering the fruit and nuts. Then put the sweet red bean paste in the center. Cover the red bean paste with the remaining glutinous rice, and flatten it.
5. Steam the pudding for at least 2 hours. Then remove the steamed pudding onto a serving platter by placing the serving surface of the platter on top of the bowl and flipping them upside down. The pudding should slip right onto the platter from the bowl.
6. The final step is to make the syrup. Boil 1 cup of water in a pan, add 3 Tablespoons of sugar, and the cornstarch paste and mix well. Pour the syrup on the pudding, and it is ready to serve.