Healing Foods for Winter: Rice Congee recipe - Inner Strength Acupuncture (2024)

FAQs

What is the healing power of congee? ›

Slow-cooked with lots of water, congee is exceptionally hydrating. Often fed to babies, nursing mothers, or the ill and depleted. This simple porridge easily delivers needed nutrients to those with compromised digestion, while simultaneously healing and repairing the organs and associated channels.

Congee has a history as a famine food — rice stretched to last with the addition of extra water — and, more commonly nowadays, the ideal sick dish. Low-effort and gentle on the stomach, it's embraced as a go-to for belly aches, colds, or days of general discomfort.

Congee is the chicken noodle soup of the East. It is the number one gut-healing food and has many health benefits. Congee is characterized by having a high water to grain ratio and simmered at low heat for hours. The prolonged cooking time breaks down the starch in the process and allows for easier digestion.

To store leftover congee, keep it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to five days. Reheat congee slowly in the microwave or on the stovetop just until warm.

Congee helps tonify the Qi and blood, harmonize digestion, reduce inflammation, and nourish the body. When we cook congee in the traditional way, much of the starch is converted into resistant starch, reducing calories and providing healthy prebiotics to the gut.

In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; some may also eat it as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.

The simplest and biggest difference to tell apart what is a congee and a porridge, is the texture of the rice. The rice in congee is utterly cook to the point it dissolved into a glue-ly / starchy texture. Porridge on the other hand, the rice still retain mostly its shape and have clearly soup / water base.

Congees are a popular year-round breakfast option. However, they can cause a quick rise in your blood glucose levels (BGL) because they are high in Glycaemic Index (GI) as they are made with white rice. Swap or mix your white rice with grains such as pearl barley, red beans, mung beans and rolled oats.

Congee is considered a soothing meal because it is a warm and comforting dish that is easy to digest. It is made with rice that has been cooked until it has broken down into a porridge-like consistency, and is usually served with a variety of ingredients such as vegetables, meat, and herbs.

Do you eat congee hot or cold? ›

Serve and enjoy the congee while it's hot. It keeps in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Breakfast topping ideas: fried egg, ramen egg, vegetable pickles, furikake, roasted peanuts or nuts, spicy chili oil, savoury stir-fried or sautéed greens.

Soaking the rice grains helps hydrate them, softening them more quickly in the porridge. A last-minute addition of finely minced raw garlic adds a subtle punch of flavor.

Rich in flavour and filled with the goodness of nutrients, rice congee is the perfect dish to have daily for anyone, especially children who are picky eaters. Introduce your fussy baby to a warm bowl of rice congee topped with the things they love. The delicious dish is also beneficial for your overall well-being.

Chinese doctors and nutritionists often suggest eating congee as a breakfast dish as it prepares our stomach to function properly throughout the day. The main benefit of Congee is the hydration of our entire body which is a crucial requirement for the healing of many diseases.

Rice Starch For Hair

Rice starch is known to improve hair growth and keeps it shiny and smooth. It is rich in amino acids, which strengthens hair roots. Rice starch also contains inositol, a carbohydrate that repairs and protects damaged hair.

In Chinese theory, the Kidney qi supplies the fire for warming the digestive fire to support digestion. Congee is a nourishing food because the warmth supports normal Spleen qi function even in times when the Kidney qi may be weakened.

Congee is an anti-inflammatory, gut healing powerhouse made of rice and bone broth. It is also a rich source of collagen, a key player in promoting gut health, skin elasticity, and easing joint pain and inflammation.

Congee, a Traditional Chinese porridge, emerges as a staple in TCM for its ability to regulate digestive function, address dampness, and promote overall well-being.