Medicinal Congee : Rice Porridge Recipe

Written By Panos Ioannou

By the Acuworx Team

Woooo this is one of my favorite recipes to share! This is literally my soul food, go-to breakfast, and creative outlet. Congee or rice porridge is a very popular breakfast dish in Asian culture that can be characterized as a soupy rice dish that has various health benefits and flavors. Think…customizable... gluten free... oatmeal!..? Basically, it’s simple, nourishing, healing and delicious! It’s great for when you have the common cold, hangovers, food poisoning or a stomach virus. From a Chinese medical perspective, I highly recommend this dish to those who have acid reflux, IBS, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac’s disease and other digestive autoimmune conditions.

 From the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective:

  • Warm cooked foods are always the best for nourishment 

  • Easily digestible and broken- down foods are better for those with weaker constitutions

  • Rice boosts energy and increases strength for those who are recovering from illness

  • The starches released by the rice coats and nourishes the stomach and intestines, helping those with sour stomachs and acidity

  • For those with young kids and elderly with weaker constitution to care for I recommend eating the dish plain without many added ingredients

 Plain Basic Congee

1 cup of Short grain white rice (or sushi rice)

7-10 cups of water/ bone broth/ vegetable stock 

Salt to taste at the end

Step 1: Wash rice in a strainer

Step 2: Add rice and water into a large pot (2 parts water, 1 part rice)

Step 3: Boil and then simmer for 1.5 hours, stirring frequently

Step 4: Add desired ingredients and salt at the end

Step 5: Enjoy!

Customize to your liking!

  • Add protein: chicken, pork, beef, eggs, seafood

  • Add vegetables: cabbage, corn, onions, carrots, celery, pumpkin, butternut squash

  • Add garnishes: ginger, scallions, fried shallots, asian pickles or radish, sesame seeds

Additional tips:

There’s no right way to make congee, it’s all personal preference!

For thicker congee: use less water

For thinner congee: use more water

Tip for restaurant style congee: use a hand blender to break up the rice pieces

For Instapot: cook for 30 minutes on high pressure + natural release

For slow cookers: cook for 6-8 hours on low overnight


Panos Ioannou
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