Eight-Treasure Cake is one of the famous traditional snacks of Shaoxing, with a long history. It was a favorite spleen-strengthening pastry of both Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. It functions to tonify the middle and replenish qi, whet the appetite, and strengthen the spleen, and also helps children grow and relieve malnutrition.
Eight-Treasure Cake
Eight-Treasure Cake is made from Poria, Coix seed, lotus seed, Euryale ferox seed, Chinese yam, hyacinth bean, fried malt, hawthorn, rice, and glutinous rice. It has the effect of nourishing the spleen and stomach. Now, Guo'ai Tang has innovated the way to eat Eight-Treasure Cake by making it into a cell-wall broken powder. The nutrients of the broken-wall Eight-Treasure Cake are not only easily digested and absorbed by the body, but also greatly reduce the burden on the spleen and stomach. Now, let me teach you how to make Eight-Treasure Cake small steamed buns using Eight-Treasure Cake broken-wall powder.
Ingredients
One jin (500g) of Eight-Treasure powder (Poria, Coix seed, lotus seed, Euryale ferox seed, Chinese yam, hyacinth bean, fried malt, hawthorn, rice, glutinous rice)
A mixing basin, water
Method/Steps
1. Place one jin of Eight-Treasure powder in a basin (be sure to choose a slightly larger basin. When I first started, I thought a jin of powder wasn't much, so I chose a small basin and had to switch to a larger one halfway through).
2. Add cold water and knead the dough. Note: Add water while kneading. The dough can be appropriately firm.
3. After kneading the dough, roll it into a long strip.
4. Cut the dough into 32 pieces, each about 20 grams.
5. Use your hands to shape the small pieces of dough into small steamed buns.
6. Place them in a steamer to cook. After the water comes to a boil, steam for about 15 minutes.
7. And this is the finished Eight-Treasure Cake small steamed buns.
The Effects and Suitable People for Eight-Treasure Cake
1. Women Pursuing Beauty and Youthfulness
The inventor of Eight-Treasure Cake, the imperial physician Chen Shigong of the Ming Dynasty, said from his personal experience: "After taking it for a hundred days, one can become lighter and more resistant to aging." Empress Dowager Cixi ate Eight-Treasure Cake daily in her later years. For young women, Eight-Treasure Cake can eliminate freckles and acne, improve skin complexion, and make the skin glossy and delicate.
2. People with Weak Spleen and Stomach
Eight-Treasure Cake is a classic and famous formula for nourishing the spleen and stomach. Many popular recipes like the Chinese Yam, Coix Seed, and Euryale Ferox Seed Porridge and the Four-Treasure Porridge are derived from it. Traditional Chinese medicine says: "The spleen and stomach are the foundation of the acquired constitution and the source of qi and blood production." Therefore, to have a healthy body, one must first regulate and nourish the spleen and stomach.
3. People for Daily Health Maintenance
Chinese yam, coix seed, and Euryale ferox seed are all revered as superior-grade herbs in the "Shennong Ben Cao Jing" (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica). Regular consumption has health benefits such as preventing diseases, improving intelligence and calming the mind, and delaying aging.
4. People Needing to Tonify the Kidneys and Benefit Essence
Chinese yam "strengthens the spleen, supplements deficiency, nourishes essence, and secures the kidneys." Euryale ferox seed is an excellent choice for strengthening the spleen and kidneys. People with symptoms of kidney deficiency such as soreness in the lower back and knees, and frequent urination at night are very suitable for using Eight-Treasure Cake for conditioning and supplementation.
5. Very Suitable for Diabetics
No sugar is added to Eight-Treasure Cake. Chinese yam and coix seed are both excellent dietary foods for lowering blood sugar. Long-term consumption has a significant effect in lowering blood sugar.
6. Very suitable for weak elderly people, infants with congenital deficiencies, patients with serious illnesses, those who are weak after illness, and those with long-term diarrhea. Eight-Treasure Cake nourishes your qi and blood. Only with sufficient qi and blood do you have the capital to resist diseases.
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