Healthy and Delicious Brown Rice Breakfast Porridge

Chinese Medicine is big on grains for taking care of our digestive system and rice is a particularly popular grain in Asia.  A good quality white rice can be used for porridge but I find brown rice gives a lovely nutty texture as well as having more fibre and nutrients.  In China, porridge is called ‘congee’ and the longer you cook it, the better it is for you, because the ingredients have broken down and become very easily digestible.

Whatever you add to ‘congee’ acts like a tonic and turns a simple porridge into a ‘medicine’.  For example, adding kidney beans to the porridge tonifies the kidneys and can help edema.

The recipe below is one I have cooked for myself and my children for years.  It’s my own recipe but I was inspired by my eurasian grandmother.  Close to the end of her life I went to visit her.  She had made a congee for herself with white rice, chicken stock, ginger and spring onions.  She offered me a bowl which I gratefully enjoyed. It was delicious, warming and very comforting.

Whenever I make rice porridge for my girls I feel like I am giving them a bit of my grandmother’s nourishment. Very healing for all of us.  My recipe has a bit of fruit for sweet and egg for protein.  Apples are tonifying for the lungs and also help detox the liver as do cranberries.  Sultanas tonify the blood and spleen.

•  1 cup brown rice
• 4 cups purified water
• 1 apple cut in little pieces
• Small handful of sultanas or cranberries
• ½ tablespoon dried coconut

Method
Cover the rice with water and simmer on a low heat for ½ hour or until the rice is soft.  Add more water whenever necessary.  Add the chopped apple, coconut and cranberries or sultanas. Cover with another cup of water and simmer for another ½ hour.  Keep adding water if the porridge gets dry, thick or sticks to the bottom.  Feel free to stir occasionally.  Once all the ingredients are cooked and soft add ½ cup of milk.  This can be cow, soya, rice or almond milk.  Whatever you prefer. The porridge should not be too thick or too runny. Now for the final touch!  Break an egg directly into the porridge and stir to mix through.

That’s it! Ready to serve with a drizzle of raw honey if you need it.

Enjoy and let me know how you like it!

Love Michelle