Chinese porridge or congee is a thick soup that made from grains, nuts, beans or dried fruits. There are various ways of making and serving congee, and no special skill is required. Congee can be sweet or salty, thick or thin, with many or few ingredients, it all depends on your own preference. 

 

Congee have been a traditional food cure since ancient times, TCM physicians advocated eating them to nourish the body and promote health. TCM claims grains give us the essential nutrients to maintain our daily activities; they are mostly neutral in nature, which facilitate the spleen and stomach functioning. A plain congee is easily digested and can act as a tonic when special ingredients are added. For example, mulberry congee nourishes the whole body and promotes the production of blood; chestnut and longan congee replenishes the heart blood and kidney essence; Chinese arborvitae kernel congee promotes sleep and bowel movements; coix seed and lotus seed congee relieves loose bowels and invigorate the spleen.

 

Since congees are readily digestive and absorbable to the body, they are very suitable as a health routine for elderly and chronic conditions to promote health. Insomnia individuals are advised to consume them regularly, being served as breakfast, dinner or bedtime snack. The congees should better be light and not over-seasoned, in order to prevent interfering with the therapeutic effects.

 

Below are health recipes for different types of insomnia: 

 

Prepare glutinous rice (50g) and wheat (60g); bring 2000ml of water to the boil first, add the ingredients, and simmer under low heat for 50 minutes or until the liquid turns thick. Add sugar to taste, serve in the morning and evening. The congee is suitable for the whole family; it helps relieve symptoms associated with nervous breakdown and promotes sleep in adults, also benefits children by stimulating the appetite, arresting sweating and preventing waking during the night.

 

Prepare fresh mulberries (30g, remove the stem) and glutinous rice (50g); bring 1000ml of water to the boil first, add the ingredients, and simmer over a low heat for 50 minutes. Add rock sugar to taste, serve in the morning. This congee is suitable for people with insomnia, dizziness, blurred vision and ear ringing. TCM believes that the symptoms are due to blood and yin deficiencies inside the body, which can be seen in health problems like neurasthenia, anemia, constipation and hypertension.

 

Prepare lily bulb (dried 30g or fresh 60g), red dates (10 pieces) and rice (60g); bring 2000ml of water to a boil first, add in the ingredients and simmer for 50 minutes, or until it turns into a thick soup. Add rock sugar to taste and serve hot in the morning and evening. In TCM, lily bulb is a usual ingredient for promoting sleep, relieving hot flashes, moistening the lungs and enhancing mental functioning. This congee is suitable for insomnia, menopause, recovery from febrile diseases and dry coughs.

 

Prepare chestnut (10 pieces, peeled and chopped), longan aril (15g) and rice (50g); bring 2000ml of water to a boil first, add in the ingredients and simmer for 50 minutes, or until it turns into a thick soup. Add rock sugar to taste and serve hot in the morning and evening. The congee replenishes essence and blood, invigorates the heart and kidney, and calms the spirit, which are beneficial to those with insomnia, palpitations, lumbar and knee soreness.

Prepare lotus seed (100g), euryale seed (100g), glutinous rice (40g), and lotus leaf (one piece). Boil 1500ml of water in a pot, add the ingredients and one cup of low-salt chicken broth, cover with a lotus leaf on the top and simmer for 50 minutes. The lotus seed invigorates the heart and spleen, the euryale seed invigorates the spleen and kidney; and both ingredients calm the spirit. The lotus leaf clears heat in the body. This congee enhances the spleen and stomach functioning and clears heart fire. It is suitable to serve for dinner during a hot summer. TCM believes that summer heat is one of the reasons for insomnia in this period.

 

Prepare Chinese yam (30g), one egg yolk and rice (40g). Boil the yam and rice with 1500ml of water, simmer for 50 minutes, turn off the heat, add in the egg yolk and stir quickly. Add salt to taste and serve in the morning or evening. This nutritious congee tonifies the whole body, reinforces the brain and promotes sleep. TCM recommends it for those who experience insomnia, irritability, hot flashes, mental fatigue and chronic diarrhea.

 

Ingredients: mutton (750g), ginseng (4g), astragalus root (15g), Chinese yam (30g), red dates (10 pieces), dwarf lily-turf tuber (12g), rice (250g), rice wine (10ml) and ginger slices (5).

 

Method: First decoct the ginseng, dwarf lily-turf tuber and astragalus root with water to prepare a solution and put aside. Chop the mutton into pieces, boil 1000ml of water in a pot, add in the wine and ginger and mutton, blanch for 5 minutes and then take out the meat. Use another pot to boil 2000ml of water, add the rice, yam, red dates, herbal solution and meat, simmer under low heat until the liquid turns thick and the mutton thoroughly stewed. Add a dash of pepper, salt and sesame oil to taste, divide into several portions; it can be served in the morning and evening.

 

Benefits: This congee replenishes qi (vital energy), promotes body functioning and calm the spirit; it is suitable for people with a , that presents low spirits, limb coldness, insomnia, poor memory and dizziness. TCM suggests eating this congee in winter season. Because the congee is warm in nature, people suffering from yin vacuity with internal heat are not recommended to consume it.

Ingredients: astragalus root (15g), ginseng (3g) and chicken meat (150g) and rice (80g).

 

Methods: Cut the astragalus root into slices, and boil with water to make a solution and put aside. Grind the ginseng into a fine powder. Slice the chicken meat and marinate it with desired amount of salt, sesame oil and ginger. Use a pot to boil 2000ml of water, add in the herbal solution, ginseng powder, meat and rice, simmer under low heat until the liquid turns thick. 

 

Benefits: The congee replenishes permodial qi, invigorates the organs and promotes sleep, which are suitable for people in poor health and experienced insomnia, memory problems and excessive sweating. The congee is warm in nature, people who have yin vacuity with internal heat are not recommended.