Nutritious Congee Recipes

Medicinal Porridge for Insomnia
When it's time to sleep but cannot fall asleep, it's truly tormenting. How many toss and turn in the quiet of night. Insomnia is called "unsleeping" in TCM. TCM believes that when spirit is peaceful, one sleeps; when spirit is disturbed, one doesn't sleep. Disturbance comes from either pathogen attack or nutrient deficiency. Pathogen causes excess, deficiency causes deficiency. Excess includes qi stagnation transforming into fire disturbing spirit, stomach disharmony, phlegm-heat internally disturbing. Deficiency includes yin deficiency with fire, heart-kidney disharmony, overthinking damaging heart and spleen, and heart-gallbladder qi deficiency with easily startled spirit. Modern medicine believes insomnia has mental causes like emotional tension, excitement, trauma, difficult problems, excessive sadness, anxiety, extreme excitement. Also internal causes like overeating, pain, itching can cause insomnia.
Reliance on sedatives and sleeping pills for insomnia is not the best strategy; it creates drug dependence, causes liver damage, affects thinking. Medicinal porridge therapy is effective for insomnia, patients may try.
Two-Kernel Porridge: Take cypress seeds 15g, fried sour dates 20g, japonica rice 100g. Crush cypress and date kernels, cook with rice, add honey when nearly done, cook 1-2 boils, take before sleep. Cypress seeds nourish heart and calm spirit, sour dates benefit liver and gallbladder, nourish heart and spleen. Modern pharmacology confirms sour dates inhibit central nervous system, have sedative and hypnotic effects. Suitable for insomnia with frequent dreams, easily awakened, timidity and palpitations, heart-gallbladder qi deficiency type.
Longan and Lotus Seed Porridge: Take longan pulp (dragon eye) 20g, lotus seeds 30g, rice 100g. Crush lotus seeds, cook with longan and rice to make porridge, take 2 hours before sleep. Longan nourishes heart and spleen, enriches blood and calms spirit; lotus seeds tonify spleen, nourish heart, benefit kidney. Suitable for insomnia with heart-spleen deficiency, palpitations and forgetfulness, fatigue and weakness, loose stools, pale complexion.
Lily Bulb and Red Date Porridge: Lily bulb 20g, red dates 20, mung beans 50g, rice 50g. Cook mung beans until half done, add lily bulb, dates, and rice, make porridge, take morning and evening. Lily clears heart and calms spirit, dates nourish stomach and strengthen spleen, mung beans clear heat and relieve vexation, suitable for summer insomnia and menopausal insomnia with palpitations, vexation, tidal heat, spontaneous sweating.
Rehmannia and Sour Date Porridge: Rehmannia 30g, fried sour dates 30g, japonica rice 50g. Decoct rehmannia and sour dates, remove dregs, add rice to make porridge, eat for breakfast. Rehmannia clears heat and nourishes yin, sour dates calm spirit. Suitable for insomnia with vexation, palpitations, dizziness, tinnitus, waist soreness and nocturnal emission, five centers heat, yin deficiency with fire type.
Bamboo Juice Porridge: Bamboo juice 20g (available at pharmacies), millet 100g. Cook millet to make porridge, add bamboo juice when nearly done, stir, take on empty stomach in morning. Bamboo juice clears phlegm and relieves vexation, calms fright. Suitable for insomnia with head heaviness, chest oppression and profuse phlegm, phlegm-heat internally disturbing type.
Gentian Porridge: Gentian root 10g, bamboo leaves 20g, white rice 100g. Decoct gentian and bamboo leaves, add juice with rice to make porridge, eat for breakfast. Gentian drains liver and reduces fire, bamboo leaves clear heart and relieve vexation. Suitable for insomnia with irritability and anger, red eyes and bitter mouth, yellow urine, constipation, liver stagnation transforming into fire type.