Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is founded on the theory that qi is the vital energetic life force that runs throughout our body. When we are born, we receive a certain amount of qi from our parents; qi can also be cultivated using energetic exercises such as tai chi or
qi gong, but the majority of our post-natal qi is derived from the food we eat. Eating nutritious, whole foods is an important step in generating sufficient qi, but only if our bodies have the capability of processing these foods.
You will often hear TCM practitioners talk about your energetic Spleen. The TCM Spleen can be loosely translated to your digestion. Thus, it is an important TCM organ to nourish and replenish your qi. There are numerous ways to boost your Spleen, but one easy step is to feed yourself nutritious and easily-digested food first thing in the morning, while your body is still awakening and not quite functioning at its peak. I like to refer to this as "babying your Spleen" in the morning.
Congee, or "rice water", is a traditional breakfast dish enjoyed throughout China.* It is much more than a delicious way to start your day, it's an excellent meal to "awaken the Spleen," priming the body for a qi-filled day.
There are two different directions one can take when preparing congee depending on your taste preference- savory or sweet. It is important to note that when I use the term "sweet," I do not mean the candy-like sweetness we are used to in western society. By "sweet" I'm referring to a very mild sweet taste.
Preparation of your congee does not need to be exact, and can vary from day to day. You may find you like your congee a bit thicker, or more soupy. You might add carrots and mushrooms one day and kale the next. Below are two base recipes to use as-is or as a foundation for your own unique dish. My only caution would be to keep it relatively simple and use nutritious, whole foods.
Savory Congee:
-white rice (1 cup)
-chicken stock or water (5-7 cups)
- fresh ginger (2-4 coin-sized slices)
Add-ons: use 1-2 additional ingredients from this list.
- carrot (~1 small, diced)
- mushrooms (2-3, diced)
- cooked squash (~1/2 cup)
- chicken ( ~1/4 cup cooked)
- kale or spinach (~1/2 cup chopped) add the last half-hour of cooking
-(if your spleen is healthy)additional grains such as brown rice, millet, or quinoa.
These grains can be used with white rice or as the primary grain in the congee
"Sweet" Congee:
-white rice (1 cup)
-milk alternative: almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, etc. or water (5-7 cups)
- fresh ginger (2-4 coin-sized slices)
Add-ons:
-a pinch of cardamom and/or a pinch of cinnamon
-berries of all kinds: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc. You may want to
add these the last 20 minutes of cooking.
Cooking directions:
Bring the rice, broth, and veggies to a boil and reduce heat to stew ingredients together for 1-4 hours (or longer). The point is to create a soupy consistency where the rice has broken down. You may need to check the pot while cooking and add more stock/broth if the congee appears to be too thick. This is important, too much water/broth is better than too little*. It is also possible to cook your congee in a crock pot on low heat. Long and slow cooking is the best way to prepare this porridge-like dish. Many claim that the longer the congee cooks, the more "powerful" it becomes*. This recipe will make a nice amount of food, you can cook congee 1-2 times a week and store in the refrigerator to reheat for breakfast another day (it will keep 3-5 days).
Enjoy! By eating this easily digested congee in the morning your Spleen be happy and your digestion will be primed to easily assimilate the rest of your food for the day.
Rebecca Babik, EAMP
Sources:
-Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition.
North Atlantic Books, Berkeley CA. 2002.
-Photo credit to
iheartguts.com
-me :)
