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Liver Congee
emointhekitchen Liver congee is a traditional Asian dish. It is made by simmering rice with a generous amount of water or broth until it reaches a smooth, porridge-like consistency. The liver adds a rich and savoury flavour to the congee. In Chinese cuisine, liver congee is often enjoyed as a comforting breakfast or a soothing meal for those feeling under the weather. The liver is known for its high iron content, making this dish nutritious for boosting energy levels. Additionally, the soft texture of the congee is easy on the stomach, perfect for those with a sensitive digestive system. One popular variation of liver congee is the addition of ginger…
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Armenian Harissa – Հարիսա
emointhekitchen In ancient times, harissa was considered a ritual and festive dish. It was prepared for festive days (weddings, folk holidays, etc.). After cooking all night in a clay pot in Toner(Թոնիր), it was eaten mostly on Sunday morning. It is considered the national dish of Armenia. According to Armenian tradition, the patron saint of Armenia, Saint Gregory the Illuminator, wanted to feed crowds of the poor, but it turned out that there was not enough meat. Then he ordered that wheat be added to the pots. When the wheat began to stick to the bottom of the pots during cooking, Saint Gregory exclaimed “harech”, which means to stir. The…
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Chicken Congee
emointhekitchen History of congee in Chinese Medicine The first records of Chinese congee come from Ma Wang Dui’s tomb during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). Medical books found in the tomb include congee recipes for snakebites and anal itching. These recipes likely date back to earlier periods. Tang and Song Dynasties saw widespread use of congee by professional physicians. Congees likely have a longer unrecorded history. Confucian scholar-doctors began writing about congee during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Sun Si-Miao included congee recipes in his Qian Jin during the Tang Dynasty. Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang compiled 129 medicinal gruel recipes in 992 AD. Many recipes are still in…
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Laba Festival
emointhekitchen People have been celebrating the Laba Festival, also known as the Laba Rice Porridge Festival, for centuries in China. It falls on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, which usually falls in January or February of the Gregorian calendar. Besides eating Laba congee, the Laba Festival also involves various religious and cultural activities. Many visit temples and pagodas to pray for a bountiful harvest, good health, and prosperity. Some temples even hold special ceremonies and performances to commemorate the festival. People observe some traditional customs and traditions throughout the festival. People may decorate their homes with red lanterns and paper cut-outs to ward off…
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Laba congee
emointhekitchen So, on December 30, 2022, the days fly by so, fast and in the blink of an eye, Laba Festival is here again. Porridge is indispensable, it adds all kinds of beans and rice to the boil, which is fragrant! Laba Festival, commonly known as “Laba”, is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The ancients had a tradition of offering sacrifices to ancestors and gods and praying for a good harvest. In some areas, there was a custom of drinking Laba porridge. According to legend, this day is also the day when the Buddha Sakyamuni became enlightened. It is called the “Dharma Treasure Festival” and is one…
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Buddha’s Rice Soup (“Buddha jumps over a wall”)
emointhekitchen “Buddha jumps over a wall” is a dish that dates back several centuries to the Qing Dynasty. They say the name originates from the saying: “Even a monk jumps over the temple wall because of the delicious smell.” The scent spread to an adjacent Buddhist monastery, where the monks meditated. Although the monks may not eat vegetarian food, one of the monks is tempted to jump over the wall. The food name is an allusion to the dish’s ability to entice the vegetarian Buddhist monks from their temples to partake in the meat-based dish and implies that even the vegetarian Gautama Buddha would try to jump over a wall…
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Wheat Congee
emointhekitchen While rice is the cornerstone of the diet in the East. In the West, wheat grains are considered the staff of life. However, by this, we typically mean wheat bread and other baked products. Overconsumption is at least partly responsible for the western obesity epidemy. Compared to rice, wheat is more difficult to digest. Negative aspects of wheat are more obvious when eaten as refined flour. We should therefore only consume it in the form of whole grains. However, a person with weak spleen function and a tendency to dampness should avoid even that. Wheat in TCM Of course, even wheat has its use in Chinese medicine and has…
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Congee – Health, Comfort & Simplicity
emointhekitchen All over Asia, rice is not just a foodstuff but it has also its fixed place in religious symbolism and rituals, festivals, weddings etc. Rice is perceived as a gift of the gods and a meal without rice is not considered a full meal. Rice is not considered to be just an ingredient or a side dish. There are various one-dish meals of rice soup or porridge cooked with plenty of water or broth (roughly 6 cups of water per 1 cup of rice), called congee. Congee or in mandarin zhōu (jook in Cantonese) is proof that some of the best-tasting things in life are at the same time the…
