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 CongeeModerators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Wellness -> Diet and Nutrition | Message format |
Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098   Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Healing Properties of Congee, according to Paul Pitchford's book: This simple rice soup is easily digested and assimilated, tonifies the blood and the qi energy, harmonizes the digestion, and is demulcent, cooling, and nourishing. Since the chronically ill person often has weak blood and low energy, and easily develops inflammaitons and other heat symptoms from deficiency of yin fluids, the cooling, demulcent and tonifying properties of congee are particularly welcome; it is also useful for increasing a nursing mother's supply of milk. The liquid can be strained from the porridge to drink as a supplement for infants and for serious conditions. Other theraputic properties may be added to the congee by cooking appropriate vegetables, grains, herbs, or meats in with the rice water. Since rice itself strengthens the spleen-pancreas digestive center, other foods added to a rice congee become more completely assimilated, and their properties are therefore enhanced. Having said all that, WARNING: The recipe below is NOT Vegetarian and was given to me by a Chinese Chef. It does wonders for when you are about to catch the flu, feel like crap, and/or when you come out of surgery. In a huge gigantic boiling pot, put in an entire Chicken (organic of course is better) cut up in small pieces. Add sliced onions (1 or 2), a large section of ginger, peeled and sliced, 1 cup of small shrimp) may add more, 2 cups rice (do not rinse),(I like to use Jasmine Rice for the aroma), salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cook for several hours, the longer the better, until it gets soupy thick, very thick - do not let it stick or burn, continue to add water throughout the entire cooking time. You need to cook at least 3-4 hours for best results 6 for best results. A crock pot is the best for cooking congee, but I like the regular pot method as I want the broth and like the old fashioned method for this recipe. As for the rice, remember to use five to six times the amount of water, so the 2 cups can be adjusted. I sometimes add celery (chinese celery is best but the other works fine) to this as it helps relieve a wind headache during the flu season. There is something about this combination of adding shrimp that makes this recipe very nourishing and satisfying. I like to use wild caught shrimp, not farmed raised. You can also add garlic to this soup, I don't because Garlic is so strong and extremely heating to the pitta dosha and not needed at this point. If you are a kapha person, go right ahead. Enjoy! I hope I didn't leave anything out since I'm in a hurry to get going. Take care and we can discuss this and all the different ways to make congee....everybody go get Paul's book and we can have fun discussing about food and cures, etc. :  | ||
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| *Fifi* |
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Yes, you would need a huge crock pot to cook an entire chicken, that is why I use the huge/gigantic one for this recipe - usually I'm cooking for several people when I cook this recipe, or if I'm going to be staying in bed for a couple of days, I don't want to cook so I make a big batch...however, you can simplify this recipe to a crock pot...easy. Use only 1/2 the chicken (cheat - buy it pre-cut), and 1/2 the rice - you can even take it down to a 1/4 chicken and 1/4 rice, just remember the rice rule above 5 to 6 times more water than rice. Cooking it for 8 hours is fine, just don't let it stick or get to gooey. Also, the shrimp needs to be small or chopped big ones are okay - they taste better. Fifi, the best kitchens are the messy ones, remember that,  Although, I'm a neat freak too. I like my clean kitchen, but a little splatter of something here and there is okay temporarily of course. I just don't invite many people over for entertaining except the Tibetans and Indians as they don't seem to mind the mess, and I don't seem to mind letting them see my mess for some strange reason Anyhow, I'm going to be late for my meeting to get my daughter, but I am curious about the Black Chicken...what is the deal with it being black?? Don't tell me they marinate it in Chicken blood, YES, I wish I could open an Asian store, that would be heavenly!! | ||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | I am sorry, I meant to say, that is the reason I use the huge/gigantic POT, not Crockpot for this recipe, OOPs,  | ||
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| *Fifi* |
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Thanks Fifi, hold on to that thought and let me ask around when I go to Atlanta on Thursday. I may be able to find one. If not, I used to order Pat McKay's organic frozen dog food shipped from California to Georgia...UPS on dry ice. This was several years ago. Actually, a couple of girls from Asheville opened up an Asian produce stand type market. They go to Atlanta to pick up a selection of hard to get items. I haven't visited them yet, but they seem to have done pretty well with it from what I've heard. Meanwhile, the last thing I need is something else to *suck* up my time - perhaps when my daughter goes to college...but by then I may be in a little tiny cave in the mountains of Tibet. One of my Tibetan friends called me from Northern Tibet in China last night...When he was describing the weather and how good he felt to be back home from the USA after 3 years, I just wanted to pack everything and leave today. His comments were that the Tibetan and Chinese food was sooo delicious and all natural, Cya later, Cyndi | ||
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| jeansyoga |
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Okay Jean, Cooking lesson #101,  YES, the bones and all get cooked with the chicken. My Mother taught me the proper way to cut up a chicken. You cut it in this order, leg, thigh, leg, thigh, break the back by tearing in half, cut away from that lower part which I can't remember the name of, but is part of the back, then cut the wings off, then split the breast by literally cutting that bone in half with a sharp knife. Walla, you now have cut up chicken parts. Make sure when you cut the bones, that you are cutting on the softer parts, or what my Mom would call the grisol (sp?), instead of straight through the bone. You have to practice with this one and destroy lots of chickens for this art I'm afraid, But it will be okay whatever you come up with. Be careful not to get your hands too greasy from the skin which you do NOT remove, it gets cooked too, as it will make your very sharp knife that your suppose to be using slip out of your hand and possibly cut you. Okay, so having that said, the bones have lots of nutrition in them including calcium. Even though I am a mostly vegetarian person, I do eat the broth when it is made this way to get the nutrients from the bones - and no MSG. So, your Mother was correct by cooking the chicken for this long, this is part of the process. NO, the chicken is not cooked, we haven't cooked it yet, that is the entire point, to get the broth from the raw chicken, not from the cooked chicken. Go back to my recipe and follow it to the letter "T", trust me, you'll be in heaven when its all done, The rice will be okay. Just make sure you follow the instructions and don't dump too much in. Remember the rice rule, 5-6 x's of water to the amount of rice...which means it will be very watery at first, the rice will expand and you WILL have to keep adding water to it if it gets too thick. Porridge and Congee is a very similar thing to the consistency of oatmeal, but usually, more watery than the thick oatmeal - does that make sense?? I really suggest you do this in a big huge gigantic boiling stock pot to make this recipe for the first time. Get a feel for it, then play with your crock pot, Seriously, you will be more confident about it when you play with the fire and water...besides, I like the way that sounds..over the fire and boiling the water, If your gonna use your brown rice, reduce it by 1/4..another words, use 1-1/2 instead of 2 cups to start. Brown rice actually has a different function than the white rice, which may alter my congee recipe and not give the accurate results. Brown rice made as a congee, is diuretic, thirst quenching, nourishing, and good for nursing mothers. Sweet rice (another type of rice) is Demulcent, used for diarrhea, vomiting and indigestion. So you can see how some rice's will give different benefits and have different uses. I'm pretty sure (90% sure) that the main congee recipe's are referring to plain white rice such as; your jasmine's, basmati (easier to digest), and any long grain white rice. Rice cooker rice is good for just eating rice, not making congee. If you really must, you can add the cooked rice from your cooker, it just won't have the rice water which is needed for this recipe. I want to hear your results and feel free to ask questions or you can even call me and I'll step you through it. Good luck! Fifi, I'm gonna look for that wine. I don't drink wine -usually, however I took Satyam to the Biltmore house last week and we went to the wine tasting. It was so funny. He had never drank a drop of wine being a Nepalis/Indian. He slurred his words after the 4th taste which was only to the tune of maybe a Tablespoon each, His Mother is gonna kill me for contaminating him..I can see lots of puja being done right now!! For me, I haven't drank wine in years! I hate the sulfites and preservatives in American wine - what a headache. Oh well. cya'll later. | ||
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| bootywhompus |
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| sideshow |
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Okay Sideshow, Here it is again. NO, you do not strain the broth...you cook it just like below. Adding water when necessary so the rice doesn't get gooey. You simmer over the stove for several hours...adding water when needed. This is kind of a thick soup - but make sure it doesn't get too thick. Congee is neither a broth or a soup...it is more like a porrige...like oatmeal consistency. Celery would be a good addition for your condition right now. I would sprinkle some fresh cilantro on top just before serving, that will help reduce your fever and the heat. Don't forget to use Ginger in the beginning...very important element to help make you sweat! Yes, you just put it in a bowl and eat it...all of it together. Sideshow, I'm sorry, I didn't tell you in the recipe to add water. I thought that everyone would know that automatically...sorry Also, another thing, I always fast during the first day or two during a cold/flu, drinking herbal tea preparations using chinese herbs. These first couple of days are when I drink broth and ginger only. Congee is better when you are hungry, like on the 3rd or 4th day, not wanting to eat heavy food and when your body has enough to strength to handle it. In a huge gigantic boiling pot, put in an entire Chicken (organic of course is better) cut up in small pieces. Add sliced onions (1 or 2), a large section of ginger, peeled and sliced, 1 cup of small shrimp) may add more, 2 cups rice (do not rinse),(I like to use Jasmine Rice for the aroma), salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. ***(Sorry, add water to cover everything and have at least 3-4 inches more above all ingredients when starting). Cook for several hours, the longer the better, until it gets soupy thick, very thick - do not let it stick or burn, continue to add water throughout the entire cooking time. You need to cook at least 3-4 hours for best results 6 for best results. A crock pot is the best for cooking congee, but I like the regular pot method as I want the broth and like the old fashioned method for this recipe. As for the rice, remember to use five to six times the amount of water, so the 2 cups can be adjusted. I sometimes add celery (chinese celery is best but the other works fine) to this as it helps relieve a wind headache during the flu season. There is something about this combination of adding shrimp that makes this recipe very nourishing and satisfying. I like to use wild caught shrimp, not farmed raised. You can also add garlic to this soup, I don't because Garlic is so strong and extremely heating to the pitta dosha and not needed at this point. Garlic is good to use as a preventative measure for colds, like eating beforehand. Edited by Cyndi 2005-12-27 4:58 PM | ||
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| sideshow |
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| Sorry Cyndi, I only cook a couple of things really well, and those are steak and spaghetti. My kids think I whip up a mean can of spaghettioS But Ill see about this recipe...I thought it would be a bit more simple...but thanks for your reply, it helped me understand what exactly this is.. | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | This is not a beginner's recipe, sorry. Although, if you can boil water, you can start it simply with slices of peeled ginger, onion slices and cut up chicken. Then gradually add rice, a very small amount. Let that cook for a couple of hours with lots of water, in fact, make it real watery. That is also good. Add salt and pepper if you like. Sea Salt is good for a cold too. Then when you learn about how rice cooks and the consistency of how much rice to the amount of water, you can experiment over time. This is an art believe it or not, but not that difficult. You do need to learn some kitchen basics first though. I used to love Spaghetti O's. Are they still putting MSG in it these days?? When I was a kid we could eat that stuff with no problems...until preservatives came along and ruined it,  I liked kool-aide too...Grape kool-aid with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...yummy! | ||
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