Blake Faulkner 
Congee
What is Congee?
Congee is a grain cooked dilute in much water in order to make a thin warm nutritious cereal. It is one of the healthiest
foods for the �Digestive Fire� of the Spleen and Stomach complex. The digestive fire can be compared to metabolism. A strong digestive fire means a healthy metabolism.
Think about a wood fire. The pot over the fire is like the Stomach. Food is the fuel put in the fire to make the fire burn. The fire itself is the �Yang� and �Qi� of the Spleen. A diet of cold raw food is like putting water on the fire. (Ice cream and iced drinks is like putting ice on the fire.) Fatty, oily, and greasy food is like putting green wood on a fire: a lot of smoke but no real fuel to heat the pot. (And the smoke is like dampness and phlegm that congest and congeal in the body). Refined food is like putting leaves on the fire: again no real warmth for the pot is created and it just burns away in a poof - almost immediately. Sugar has the same result upon the body as refined, oily, and cold foods. It might be the worst thing for the digestive fire altogether.
The contents in the stomach (pot in our analogy) will be sent to the body for sustenance. Congee (and other foods healing for the spleen) is like putting well-seasoned mature hardwood on the fire that goes on giving to the fire all day long. In other words, it is like giving sustained fuel for our bodies and minds to use all day long.
Remember that digestion/metabolism is essentially a warm process. If the digestive fire is kept strong one need not ever worry about being overweight. Also, if the digestive fire is kept well, dampness, mucous, cloudy thinking, painful sinuses and/or headaches, sore heavy muscles and limbs, discharges, fibroids, nodules, cysts, and tumors, symptoms that get worse in damp weather, bloating, cholesterol problems and so on including phlegm and all of its myriad of problems, do not result. Realize that obesity is a form of damp-phlegm retained in the body
The Basic Congee Recipe
The basic congee recipe is about � cup of grain cooked over a slow, low fire for a long time in about 1 � cups of water. This makes one
portion. Many people like this for breakfast, although it can be eaten at any time and many additions can be
made to it according to one�s wishes and tastes. The most convenient way to cook congee is to place the grain
and water in a small crockpot and leave to cook 6-8 hours or overnight. One can adjust either to make it more
thick or thin but actually congee made thinly gives more benefit
Recipe Suggestions
Congee is traditionally made with rice but many grains can be substituted or a combination can be created
according to one�s whim. Please note that refined grains do not work for this recipe: whole grains must be
used. Below are some suggestions:
Grains
- Brown Rice
- Wild Rice
- Kamut
- Quinoa
- Barley (whole)
- Millet
- Buckwheat
- Whole Wheat
- Spelt
- Oat Groats
- Amaranth
Note: amaranth has a strong flavor that should be tested first for taste
Fruit
- Add dried fruit at the beginning of cooking
- Or serve fresh fruit at serving
Meat
- Try lean portions
- Cut into bite-size pieces
Beverage
- Goat Milk
- Oat Milk
- Almond Milk
- Rice Milk
Sweetener
- (only add a sweetener if necessary)
- Maple Syrup
- Barley Syrup
- Rice Syrup
- Raw Honey
- Stevia
Other Proteins
- Nut Butters
- Nuts and seeds
- Tahini
Spices
- Cinnamon
- Fennugreek
- Ginger
- Cardamom
- Garam Masala
- Pepper
- Fennel
- Clove
- Miso
- Tamari
Vegetables
- Carrot
- Yam
- Celery
- Other vegetables
I would love to hear of your favorite recipes. Enjoy your newly enhanced digestive fire and vitality! And bon a petit!