Mondo Grass Congee
Beat the Heat with This Mondo Grass Congee
The recipe for this mondo grass congee comes from the Book of the Living, a Song dynasty work on traditional Chinese medicine. Take mondo grass, licorice root, bamboo leaf, and Chinese red dates, boil them, and cook the resulting liquid together with rice to create a congee with a mild, sweet flavor.
The summer in Guangdong can last as long as seven or eight months. In the warm climate, people sweat heavily and exhaust themselves physically, often feeling weak, or lacking in vitality or appetite. A bowl of mondo grass congee is just the thing to refresh the mind, cool the nerves, stimulate the appetite, and relieve the heat's effects.
Nutritional Benefits of Mondo Grass Congee
This congee's mild sweetness clears internal heat, increases energy, and pacifies the stomach. In summer, it is remarkably effective as food therapy for treating thirst, lack of energy, and poor appetite.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce (30 grams) mondo grass
- 1/3 ounce (10 grams) licorice root
- 1/2 ounce (15 grams) bamboo leaf
- 6 Chinese red dates
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) Japonica rice
Cooking Directions
- Thoroughly wash the rice and Chinese red dates, then remove the pits from the dates.
- Wash the mondo grass, licorice root and bamboo leaf separately, then place them in the pot. Add the appropriate amount of water, then bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. Strain the dregs and retain the liquid.
- Pour the liquid into the pot, add the appropriate amount of water, and bring to the boil. Add the rice and red dates, bring to the boil once more, then bring down to a simmer until the grains of rice start to split open from the center. Every five minutes, stir the mixture in the same direction in order to prevent the congee from solidifying.