Thermal Cooker Eight-Treasure Congee
★★★★½ Editors’ rating 4.7
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Published October 29, 2026
9 ingredients
by WokBite Kitchen
15min Prep
45min Cook
60min Total
4Servings
EasyDifficulty
Eight-treasure congee is a Chinese sweet porridge built from a handful of grains, beans and dried fruits, simmered until soft and lightly sweetened with rock sugar. This version uses a thermal cooker: the mixture is brought to a boil, sealed into a preheated insulated pot, and left to finish cooking in its own retained heat.
The result is a thick, comforting bowl with chewy beans, tender lotus seeds and a deep purple tint from black glutinous rice and dried purple sweet potato. Soaking the grains first is what lets the residual heat do its work, so don’t skip it.
Ingredients
Tap an item to tick it off- 20 g white rice
- 2 black dates
- 10 g large red beans
- 10 g shelled peanuts
- 20 g black glutinous rice
- 40 g rock sugar
- 10 g dried purple sweet potato
- 20 g lotus seeds
- 20 g red beans
Method
1
Gather all the ingredients. Put everything except the rock sugar in a bowl of cold water and soak for 30 minutes.
2
Fill a thermal cooking pot with boiling water, quickly seal on the lid, shake well and let stand for 5 minutes to preheat.
3
Drain the soaked ingredients, then bring them to a boil in fresh boiling water. Tip the contents into the preheated thermal pot.
4
Add the rock sugar, seal the lid and let the congee cook in the thermal pot for 3 hours.
5
Open the lid and serve.
Why this worksThe preheat step is what makes a thermal pot work: the boiling water charges the insulated wall so the residual heat can cook the grains through without a flame. The common mistake is under-soaking the beans and lotus seeds, which leaves them firm no matter how long they sit; give them the full 30 minutes. Keep the pot sealed the whole time, since every peek lets the heat escape.
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