Discussion Board

Weight Loss Porridge

1/2 c. millet
1/2 c. barley (optional)
1/2 c. brown rice
1/4 c. adzuki beans
Chopped greens (spinach or Asian greens)
8-10 cups water

Put all ingredients except greens in large pot. Bring to boil, then turn down heat to lowest setting and simmer for 2 hours. If you are eating this the same day then put a handful of chopped greens in the pot a few minutes before serving. If you are serving it another day, wait and put the chopped greens in when re-heating it. You can also try other ingredients such as spring onion, fresh coriander and/or peanuts. This may be used for any meal including breakfast and keeps in the refrigerator for several days.

(Adapted from the book: "Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories").

I might try this, substituting buckwheat kasha for the barley since I don't do gluten. I've got some adzuki beans in the cupboard I've been wanting to do something with. I wonder if I just threw the beans and grains in the rice cooker on the brown rice setting I could put it in tonight and have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner tomorrow?
Kate

Actually the author said this on the website:

"Note: I never weigh my ingredients but instead use a ratio of one cup grain: eight/ ten cups water but if you want a rough guideline until you get familiar with porridge making try the proportions below (referring to the recipe)."

and she said this in the book:

"The best grains for zhou (Mandarin for congee) are short grain rice, wild rice, millet, quinoa, cornmeal, Job's tears, buckwheat and barley."

So if you use that ratio you should be able to customize the recipe for your rice cooker. If I put too much water in my rice cooker a slimy liquid of rice and water comes out the top. Also I will either leave out the barley or use another grain also since I can't eat anything with gluten.

You can really add just about anything you want to it including split peas or lentals, mushtooms, chopped sweet potato, goji berries or fruit (dried fruit can be cooked with the rice, but fresh fruit should be add towards the last 10 minutes of cooking. I am planning on cooking several versions and writing about it on my blog.

**edited to correct type

That sounds very interesting. I have everything in the house. I think I will try it this week. I love a breakfast that incorporates leafy greens.

When I made congee in my rice cooker I had to keep the lid propped open a bit. Congee/porridge takes a lot of water, and the starch from the grains can foam up and make a mess. It's easier to control that on the stovetop by reducing the heat a bit, but rice cookers (at least mine which just has one setting: cook) don't allow for that.

This person makes it in the crockpot, but her water to grain ratio is lower (only 6 1/2 cups water to one cup grain). Her final product is probably thicker. http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/5 ... 2520.shtml If you have a big enough crockpot or rice maker, you might be able to use it for the congee/porridge with more water as suggested by the author in GJ's book. Just keep the foaming thing in mind. If the machine is smaller, maybe halving the recipe would help prevent messes. If you're going to leave it unattended, I'd probably go with a crockpot over a rice cooker. I also read that some rice makers have a congee setting.

I guess the ratios depend on how thick (soupy) you want the final product. When I made congee in my rice cooker, it was with 3/4 c rice and 8 cups water. When I made the Tunisian Fusion (vegetable congee stew thing), I only used 1/2 cup brown rice, but about 15 cups water total. I also used a huge pot.

Congee is fun comfort food. And because of the high amounts of water, the calorie density is lowered. There are probably a billion variations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congee

http://www.bodhimed.com/bodhimed-nutrit ... kfast.html

Thanks for the tips! I am still struggling with giving up coffee--not because of the caffeine (I've been drinking decaf), but because I like a hot drink in the morning and for some reason hot tea just doesn't do it for me (although I am still trying to switch to tea). I am not a big oatmeal eater either, although I do have it from time to time, but I think a big ol' bowl of hot congee in the mornings may become my morning ritual and keep me warm too.