I’m not sure what section this belongs in, but it’s squarely in the category of “thing you would know about if we were friends” so 🤷♀️
Congee is basically a rice porridge. It has a risotto vibe when you’re making it, and I think I might channel a bit of KonMari where I’m putting some of my positive energy into the grains as they start, like I do when I carefully smooth and fold laundry.
I don’t have a good explanation for why congee is as delicious as it is. It is not just soggy rice.
For digestion, one idea is that congee is very hydrating, in a way that’s easier for your gut to absorb. Liquids normally pass right through, but rice that’s absorbed many times its volume in water will take time to release.
It’s also in the broader category of warm wet foods [my sister has recently lobbied to rename this category “warming comfort foods” 🙃] which are nourishing in a way that an ice cold (and otherwise nutritious) smoothie can’t be, due to the general way it causes your body to contract/constrict.
I make a big batch to last all week (3 cups of rice makes about 4.5qts which is the max that fits comfortably in my Instant Pot (for Rice & Bone Broth) — wear long sleeves to protect against scalding cauldron burbles), store it in The best tupperware (now qt sized mason jars) and reheat it for breakfast with a couple poached eggs or lunch with a packet or can of mackerel, sardines, grass fed beef, or slivers of ginger. I make sure it’s salted enough, drizzle soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, and sometimes the nori flakes & sesame seeds (furikake) I get at TJ’s. I think it would also work fine as a dessert with fruit and coconut cream or milk and some honey and cinnamon; it’s surprising versatile.
Andrew Sterman appears to be the relevant expert in the area (he’s also a super-accomplished musician!):
This involves a fair amount of pushing rice around and making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. For that I recommend a wooden spoon with a relatively flat bottom, e.g.
update: this spoon is great, but the edges of the handle are uncomfortable when stirring a huge pot of congee. I’m testing out the OXO turner set (which wirecutter rejected due to them drying out/cracking quickly — so I’ll probably not put them in the dishwasher and I’ll maybe need to spoil them with mineral oil and see how that goes)
His wife’s page has a lot of resources as well, and I’m trying out their ideas about “meal design,” for now mostly in changing what sorts of things I treat as appetizers: our family has little warmed dishes of pitted olives and marinated artichoke hearts (both from TJ’s) during meal prep to get the digestive juices flowing.
(I’ve also started drinking warm water, especially first thing when I wake up, with a diagnosis of maybe having some sort of persistent chill in my core(?) It helps that I have an Electric kettle that can heat water to exactly 125F. You might think it would have the same effect as a cup of tea, but apparently I end up distractedly sipping tea and that does not cause the same surprising thing that happens when you down your mug in just a minute or two. It’s like the effect of soaking in Hot Tubs, but from the inside 😅)
(update: this is my first summer on the wet warm food train (maybe it’s actually better to continue putting warm things in as a way of powering the natural processes that cool you down?) and I’m now trying out Andrew’s two volume cookbook set, where one seems to be more conceptual and the second is more hands-on)
(new favorite(?) weird food: coconut chia pudding. Wildly easy to prepare, seems like it might be fine even with only a tiny amount of sweetener (I made it with maple syrup), generally seems to have similar benefits to congee: holds lots of moisture, has a sort of smooth gelatin thing going on, is warm and comforting and apparently full of fiber and good for you? I made mine with:
- 1 cup TJ’s whole organic coconut milk,
- 1/3tsp cinnamon,
- freshly ground nutmeg (just enough for the aroma or 1/16tsp),
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract,
- 1/4 cup TJ’s organic chia seeds, and
- a splash of maple syrup (less than 1Tbs)
I used my hand-held electric whisk from my Manual coffee bean grinder (& the rest of my hot drink tips) to mix the spices and syrup and coconut milk and then added the seeds, stirred it all together, came back in an hour and stirred some more, added some water because it seemed like it could absorb a bit more, popped it in the fridge and then heated up a small serving when the mood struck.)
Update: I think it makes sense to use an entire can of coconut milk to simplify things and lower the odds that you’ll waste the rest of the can. To get 2cups, you may need to add a couple oz of water and then you can double the other ingredients. I’ve been making it in a 1 quart mason jar (with measurements on the side), which gives just enough room for it to swell as it absorbs water.
(It calls for as much cardamom as cinnamon, but I didn’t have any, so I made do without and we still love it)
🫙I haven’t really updated y’all about using mason jars yet, but: I use them all the time; even more than my The best tupperware. 4oz quilted ones as wine glasses (I’m not much of a drinker) and for small desserts, 8oz wide-mouth ones for sous viding yogurt with jam or creme brûlée and various others for leftovers or to take on the road as a snack or camping. I use the grey Ball plastic screw top lids in both regular and wide mouth—they come in a pack of 6 and are more expensive than the knockoffs, but they hold the Fermented Kimchi: easy, healthy, delicious smell in better, so I trust them more. I also have decorative wooden Ball lids with a gasket for dry goods storage, e.g. organic native popcorn or red lentils but I waited for a big sale. I also store my chia seeds this way.
Andrew Sterman also taught me how to make Stewed Fruit, which has become part of my Holiday Specials.
Maybe also try out qi gong?