How to make congee?

Chinese congee culture

In the history of written records in China, congee has always been accompanied by traces. The words about congee were first found in Zhou Shu: Huangdi began to cook rice for congee.

Chinese congee was mainly used for food 4,000 years ago, and it was used as medicine 2,500 years ago. The biography of Bian Quecang in Historical Records shows that Chun Yuyi (Canggong), a famous doctor of the Western Han Dynasty, used "Huoqi congee" to treat King Qi's disease. The treatise on typhoid fever written by Zhang Zhongjing, a doctor of the Han Dynasty, States that Guizhi Tang has to be taken with a liter of hot congee, which is a strong example of its medicinal power.

Entering the Middle Ages, the function of congee was highly integrated with "edible" and "medicinal" and entered the level of "health preservation" with humanistic color.

In the Song Dynasty, Su Dongpo wrote in a book that he was hungry at night. Wu Ziye urged him to eat congee. Clouds could push the old to the new and benefit the stomach. congee is both delicious and delicious. It is wonderful to have a rest after congee. Lu You, a famous poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, also strongly recommended eating congee to keep healthy, believing that it could prolong life. He once wrote a poem called "congee food": "Everyone in the world has been learning for a long time, but at present, I have to learn from Wanqiu and make it easy to eat congee only to immortals. "Thus, people's understanding of congee has been raised to a new level.

It can be seen that the relationship between congee and Chinese people is just like congee itself, which is thick and sticky and mutually reinforcing. As a traditional food, congee is more important in the hearts of Chinese people than any other nation in the world.

Ground Pork and Corn Congee (Chinese Rice Porridge) Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 small clove)

1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine

Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil

2 scallions, chopped (optional)

6 cups water

1/2 cup short grain rice, washed and drained

About 1 cup corn kernels cut from 1 large ear of corn

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine pork, ginger, garlic, Shaoxing wine, 1/4 teaspoon salt, sugar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and oil. Mix well and set aside in the refrigerator.

2. In a large pot, add water and the washed rice. Cover the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil. When the water starts boiling, turn down the flame to a simmer and cover the pot. 15 minutes later, stir the rice making sure it’s not sticking to the bottom. Cover the pot again and stir the rice one more time 15 minutes after the first stir. Cover the pot one last time and simmer for 30 minutes. When the congee is done, it should look creamy and silky.

3. Add the ground pork to the congee, breaking down the meat, and simmer with the lid off until the ground pork is cooked, 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Turn off the flame, add the corn, taste and season the congee with salt. Serve immediately with chopped scallions on top (optional).

China's health porridge is very good for the body, especially for the patients, because the appetite during illness is generally poor, greasy food is not a good choice, too light food has not enough nutrition. So, a bowl of delicious and nutritious porridge is your best choice.