Aged Tangerine Peel, Apricot Kernel and Barley Congee

Why people make this congee

In Chinese thinking, dizziness often traces back to the liver and can arise from several roots — wind, fire, phlegm or depletion. For the kind that comes with a heavy, foggy head, chest stuffiness, nausea or queasiness — the “phlegm-damp obstruction” pattern — Nourilo likes a gentle medicinal congee that transforms phlegm and settles the stomach. This one is traditionally said to clear heat, transform phlegm, move the qi and harmonize the stomach, easing that thick-headed, phlegmy dizziness.

Method

1. Rinse and soak all the ingredients.
2. Add water and simmer into a congee of medium thickness.
3. Eat as much as you like; the source suggests taking it for about a week.

Nourilo’s Tips

You can also add poria (fu ling) and white atractylodes (bai zhu), 15 g each, to this congee — the source notes this is also helpful for people with inner-ear imbalance (vertigo). For raw versus cooked barley: you can mix both; if the person eating it has a weaker, cooler spleen and stomach, add some cooked barley, which strengthens the spleen more.