Apple Brown Rice Congee

As an aspiring food blogger, one of the many challenges I face is making the food I cook look pretty in the photos.  I can eat visually unappealing food as long as I am the chef.  Simply because I know what goes into my food.  It is only natural, however, that people feel suspicious if they see that the appearance and purported taste of the food do not match.  Looking at the photo, would you doubt me if I were to say the congee tasted fabulous?

As you may recall, I had been suffering from a severe episode of abdominal bloating which persisted, despite going grain-free for more than a week.  So a few days back, Mom brought me to see a traditional Chinese physician who prescribed me some medicine which seemed to help, along with a list of forbidden foods, among which is anything raw.  No raw fruits.  No fruit/vegetable juices.  No raw salads.  Cold foods are out of question.  Until he pronounces me to be fully recovered from my digestive woes.

Today's recipe follows a principle of health in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), that is, to eat or drink warm, cooked and easily digestible food.  Nothing raw, uncooked, cool or cold.  These two traditional health systems also share the view that congees (or porridge if you wish to call it) make an excellent breakfast, provided you cook the whole grain properly so as to maximise its nutritional value.  And the recipe is inspired by stewed apples, commonly extolled in Ayurveda for its simplicity and nourishing qualities.  For Chinese readers, this should not be too surprising since the Chinese also have their own Apple and Pear Pork Rib Soup which involves stewing apples too. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of brown rice* (soaked for at least 24 hours)
• 1 large red apple (2 small ones)
• 1 tbsp ghee (optional)
• 5 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 aniseed
• 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup (or to taste)

Directions
Add everything into a cooking pot and cook for about 40 minutes to 1 hour (as was in my case since my share was so small).  For a larger portion, you can opt to use a slow-cooker but I think the time taken to cook needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Verdict
If you aren't a congee type of person, you won't appreciate eating it as a meal by itself.  However, what makes it different from traditional Chinese congee is clearly the use of spices and pure maple syrup.  The maple syrup adds an overall mild sweetness to the congee, while the stewed apples create a delightful burst of sweetness when you bite on them.  For me, at least, the congee sits comfortingly well in my belly.


* For proper brown rice preparation, please refer here.  Among all the whole grains, I do think brown rice is one of the best sources of essential minerals, but you really need to prepare it very well because it has substantial amounts of phytic acid which chelates with these minerals, effectively negating any potential nutritional benefit it may have.