Although congee is a food we often eat in our daily lives, do you know the proper way to consume it and how to pair it? The following introduces simple congee with not-so-simple methods and excellent health benefits.
First, eating congee should be tailored to the person, the season, and the location. For the person: apart from the elderly, young children, pregnant and postpartum women, and those who are seriously ill or extremely weak, it is not recommended to eat congee alone every day, regardless of medicinal ingredients. Especially for young people, although ancient sages believed that congee, though bland, has "long-lasting flavor in its simplicity," the blandness is an objective fact and may not suit the tastes of the young; long-term consumption might even lead to dislike. People with different constitutions can also eat special congee. For example, those with yang deficiency should eat lamb congee or dried ginger congee to warm the yang; those with yin deficiency should eat shashen congee or yuzhu congee to nourish the yin. For the season: in different seasons, the focus of ingredients in congee varies. The Tang dynasty medical scholar Wang Bing said, "Spring is suitable for coolness, summer for coldness, autumn for warmth, and winter for heat; these are the appropriate choices for the time." This can be a reference! For the location: in the south, flavors are sweet, and in the north, they are salty. Generally, the south belongs to the fire element and is suitable for cooling congee, while the north belongs to the water element and is suitable for warming congee.
Second, cooking congee also requires attention to pairing. Modern people like to add some medicinal herbs to congee, so one must pay attention to the compatibility of food and medicine. For congee used for health preservation, grains and beans should be the main ingredients, with medicinal herbs playing a supplementary role. Health-preserving congee is different from medicinal congee; the latter focuses on treatment, so it's okay to use more herbs occasionally, while normally plain congee is sufficient to soothe the stomach. Health-preserving congee is for long-term, gentle nourishment, so the types and amounts of herbs should be minimal, or even none. For the elderly, congee is, on the contrary, an excellent regular food for health preservation. Therefore, Cao Tingdong wrote in "Lao Lao Heng Yan": "Congee benefits people, and is especially suitable for the elderly."
Again, do not use potent or harsh medicinal herbs in health-preserving congee. The Qing dynasty doctor Gong Xiu, in "Ben Cao Qiu Zhen," believed: "Although rice is a common food, its benefits are not great on its own. However, once combined with medicinal herbs, its power becomes immense and should not be treated casually or ignored." In other words, although the tonifying and purging effects of rice congee are very weak, adding ginseng to it can greatly enhance the effects of the ginseng. This is a good thing, but it also shows that there is a relationship between rice congee and medicinal herbs that we cannot yet fully understand and master.
1. Longan and Millet Congee
15 grams of longan pulp, 100-200 grams of millet. Wash the longan pulp and cook it with the millet. First, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat to make congee. Longan pulp is sweet and warm in nature, and can benefit the heart and spleen, nourish the blood, and calm the spirit.
2. Walnut Congee
20 grams of walnut meat, 100-200 grams of japonica rice. Wash the walnut meat, chop it, and cook it with the japonica rice to make congee. It can moisten the lungs and stop coughing, tonify the kidneys and secure essence, and moisten the intestines to relieve constipation. However, it should not be eaten by those with phlegm-heat, accumulated heat, or diarrhea.
3. Gordon Euryale Seed Congee
30-50 grams of gordon euryale seeds, 100-200 grams of japonica rice. Put both in a pot, add water and bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat. Gordon euryale seeds are sweet and neutral in nature, and can secure the kidneys, prevent seminal emission, strengthen the spleen, and stop diarrhea. They are suitable for middle-aged and elderly people.
These 3 health-preserving congees help you tonify the kidneys and benefit qi. A healthy diet is what safeguards our health, and the correct dietary philosophy adds healthy elements to our lives. Cultivating healthy eating habits in daily life is the key to having a healthy body.