Pumpkin Brown Rice and Millet Congee with Shan Yao 南瓜山藥糙米與小米粥

Before the western style bakeries and American cereal boxes got popular, congee was definitely one of the breakfast staples in Taiwan. Not only did I grow up having it for breakfast regularly, but whenever my tummy was not well or when I got a cold, my mom would also make it for me. It can soothe the stomach and is easy to digest. Moreover, you can make it in your rice cooker without having to do much work! In fact, the congee recipe I made last year - Chinese Cabbage, Tomato, and Shiitake Congee, was something I made throughout a terrible flu! Since it's the cold season, I decided to do a new type of congee whose key ingredients are pumpkin and shan yao (山藥). Shan Yao is also called huai shan (淮山). It's a type of wild Chinese yam, that is very nourishing. It can be used to aide digestion, relieve a cough, boost the immune system, lower high blood pressure, and tonify the kidneys, among other things. In this recipe, I used puréed pumpkin, instead of pumpkin pieces, which gives a thick and creamy texture, as well as a beautiful orange fall colour! Make this congee when you're feeling a bit under the weather or when you need an easy, warming nutritious bowl!

Pumpkin Brown Rice and Millet Congee with Shan Yao (4 servings)

1/2 C brown rice

1/4 C millet

3/4 C shan yao, peeled and cut into 3/4" (1.5 cm) cubes *Shan yao can be found in most Chinese markets nowadays.

A: 3/4 C pumpkin purée
    6 C    water or broth (use more if you like a thin congee)

*T = tbsp, t = tsp, C = cup

1. The night before cooking, rinse the brown rice and millet, then soak them with 1 C of warm water for 1 hr.

2. Strain the water (but don't worry if it's a bit wet) and transfer the rice mixture to a container. Cover well and place it in the freezer overnight. *This process will help the rice to cook much more quickly.

3. The next day, take out the container. Add 1/2 C hot water to it and let sit for 5 minutes until the rice mixture is defrosted a little bit.

4. In the meanwhile, whisk together ingredients A.

5. Add the rice mixture (with water), shan yao, and ingredients A into a rice cooker, then set it to the porridge setting. If you don't have a rice cooker, cook everything in a 3 qt pot over medium heat. When it comes to a boil, turn it down to low heat and continue to cook until it reaches the consistency you like. *Adjust the amount of water to your liking.
 
You can simply serve it as it is with just a little sea salt and toasted sesame seeds, or if you'd like a little more flavour, you can add some scallion soy sauce  (see recipe below) on top!

For the Scallion Sauce:

1/3 C scallions, chopped

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 t soy sauce


1. Heat the oil over low heat. When it's hot, add the scallions and sauté for about 10 seconds.

2. Pour out everything to a dish and add the soy sauce.

 

                                                                                               - Yvonne

記得小時候在西式糕餅店與美式cereal還未普遍之前，粥/稀飯是大部分家庭的傳統早餐之一。除了當早餐之外，每當我生病或肚子不舒服時候，老媽也都會煮粥給我吃。它不但容易消化，同時做起來也非常的容易，由其如果是使用電鍋來煮的話。去年我寫了ㄧ個高麗菜蕃茄香菇粥食譜，就是我感冒時以電鍋煮成的，ㄧ點也不費力。最近又到了容易感冒的季節，我想在這裡與大家分享另一個我個人也非常喜愛的粥，這次主要的材料是南瓜與山藥。山藥的營養價值非常高，它可以用來幫助消化與咳嗽、並有增強抵抗力、降血壓等其他益處。除了糙米，我還加了小米以增加營養成分。這個食譜與其他ㄧ些南瓜粥食譜不ㄧ樣的地方是我以南瓜泥做的，而不是南瓜塊，所以吃起來較稠質感較綿密。最近天氣越來越寒冷了，來碗熱騰騰又含豐富營養的粥來開胃暖身吧！

南瓜山藥糙米粥 (4 人份)

糙米 1/2 杯 *我使用的量杯是一般的量杯，不是量米的杯子

小米 1/4 杯

山藥 3/4 杯…切成約1.5 cm塊狀

A: 南瓜泥     3/4 杯
    高湯或水   6 杯

1. 煮粥的前ㄧ天晚上將糙米與小米洗淨，浸泡於1杯的溫開水約1小時。

2. 將糙米與小米稍微瀝乾，然後放入一個容器中，蓋上蓋子，放置冷凍庫ㄧ整個晚上。*這個步驟可讓米較快煮熟。
3. 第二天將容器從冷凍庫拿出，加1/2杯的熱水，放置5分鐘至稍微解凍。

4. 將A料混合。

5. 將解凍的糙米、小米與熱水和山藥及A料全倒進電鍋內。如果沒有電鍋，將全部材料放入一個鍋中以中火先煮滾，然後蓋上鍋蓋以小火慢慢煮到熟軟。*若喜歡較稀的粥，可以加多一點水。

可以煮熟後直接加點海鹽食用，若喜歡味道重一點，可以加點以下的醬料ㄧ起食用。

醬料：

蔥 1/3 杯…切碎

橄欖油 2 大匙

醬油 1 小匙

1. 將油以中小火加熱，加入蔥炒約10秒。

2. 將炒好的蔥與油ㄧ起倒入ㄧ個小碟子，再拌入醬油即可。 

              
                                                                                - Yvonne 

 © recipe and photos by My Chouchoux