Congee - a miracle soup! (Instant Pot Recipe)

I remember back when I was studying Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, learning about how different cultures use food to cure different 'imbalances' in the body (what a crazy concept to those of us in North America
right??). In the Chinese culture they use things like 'Change of Seasons Soup' to support the body during the change of seasons. They add herbs like astragalus, eleutherococcus and ginger into chicken soup to help keep the body from getting sick. My mind was blown - I remember fumbling my way through china town, asking different vendors if they had 'change of seasons soup'...they thought I was crazy. Turns out it's kind of like asking for 'curry' powder in an Indian market - everyone has their own family recipe. I did come home with a selection of dried up barks and berries, and proceeded to make my first batch, which was surprisingly tasty.


I also learned about Congee. In fact congee came up A LOT. Turns out it helps everything from digestive upset, diarrhea, weak digestion and as a general prevention for good health. It is commonly served in Chinese households, like us North Americans eat Mac'n Cheese (ok, I know YOU know better than that, but I'm making a point). 

Congee is basically a rice porridge, but the magic happens when it is cooked for long period of time, sometimes overnight. The rice completely falls apart, making a thick and slippery soup. From a naturopath's perspective, the rice then releases 'gamma-oryzanol'. Gamma-oryzanol has been shown in studies (mainly in Japan) to ease heartburn, heal ulcers, treat gastritis, and act on the digestive control centers in the brain (thus used as a digestive support and balancer). Pretty cool right? I love using it in my practise for patients with colitis, unspecified gastrointestinal symptoms (IBS), diarrhea, flu, stomach bugs and heart burn.

Congee is a beautifully simple and versatile soup. There are literally hundreds of variations, all with unique healing properties depending what kind of meat, vegetables, seasonings or beans you may add. Back when my husband (then boyfriend) live in Toronto, we frequently enjoyed going for lunch to the local Congee Restaurant - yes, the ENTIRE menu was congee...just different flavors - Chicken, Pork, Beef, Seafood, Vegetable etc. DELICIOUS!

Chicken Congee

Place the following ingredients, in this order into the Instant Pot (if you don't have one, just use a regular pot and do it stove-top - don't worry about the order, just put it all together into the pot).

-1.5 cups long grain Jasmine Rice
-a few dried shiitake mushrooms (this is optional for flavor)
-1 strip of wakame (or kombu)
-1 inch of ginger sliced
-2 garlic cloves crushed
-6-8 chicken pieces (dark meat works best - thighs, drumsticks etc)
-1 carton of chicken broth (optional - can use water)
-5 cups water
-sprinkle of sea salt (you will later adjust saltiness with your toppings, so don't use too much)

Set Instant Pot to 25 min. OR bring to a boil in regular pot, turn heat down, and let simmer at least 2 hours (although it gets better the longer you do it). 

When serving, top with the following OPTIONAL toppings:
-bean sprouts
-green onion
-sesame oil
-hoisin sauce
-sriracha hot sauce
-peanuts
-hard boiled eggs