Photo: Doaa Elkady • Food Styling: Jason Schreiber • Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Photo: Doaa Elkady • Food Styling: Jason Schreiber • Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks
“Every Lunar New Year , my mom will make ba bao fan, a Chinese steamed glutinous rice pudding with a ribbon of creamy red bean filling running through the middle. Ba bao fan, which roughly translates to ‘eight treasures rice,’ is a very auspicious and traditional dessert. The namesake eight treasures—a mixture of candied and dried fruits, nuts, and seeds—ensures wealth and prosperity in the new year, so my mom never skimped on the ring of goji berries, dates, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, figs, and mango that lined her cake pan. Over the years, I’ve made her recipe my own with little tweaks, like skipping the nuts and…..