Emily Jung Miller

Fourth in a series of sketches exploring my Hakka Chinese heritage and personal family history through traditional foods and recipes. Congee is a simple, creamy rice porridge that has been eaten in China continuously since before recorded history. In Cantonese, congee is known as jook 粥, and jook is what my Hakka mother told me she ate for breakfast growing up. Mark Bittman has called it "among the world's best breakfasts... transcendent stuff... Chinese risotto, though infinitely less pretentious."

This was my first experience cooking and eating jook, and I chose to start with a different style than the everyday simple white jook. Laba Congee, also known as Eight Treasures Congee, includes many different ingredients (at least eight!) such as red adzuki beans, mung beans, goji berries, longan berries, dates, nuts, and sugar, along with the traditional congee base of sweet glutinous rice, plus black rice and other grains.

Laba Congee has been a special recipe since the Han dynasty. With the rise of Buddhism in China, it became associated with the enlightenment of Buddha. "La" is the 12th month in the lunar calendar (not the same as December 1-31) and "ba" means eight. Thus, the Laba Festival is celebrated on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month. The Laba Festival marks the beginning of Lunar New Year season. In 2026, Laba Festival is January 26 and Lunar New Year is February 17.

• Laba Congee recipe

Commissions to create new original artwork are currently closed. I will be reviewing my commission schedule for possible openings in February 2026.