Jiaogulan and Red Date Congee

Why people make this congee

Studies suggest that as many as one in four people locally may have fatty liver — and that fatty liver is linked to a higher chance of bowel polyps, which matter for long-term gut health. So the smart move is to look after the liver early. For anyone with fatty liver, the first steps are losing excess weight and eating lighter, with less oil and less sugar. A gentle food-therapy congee can be a helpful companion: jiaogulan tea is traditionally valued for the liver, and simmered with red dates and a little slab sugar into a congee, it makes a comforting daily bowl.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• People wanting a gentle, everyday way to support liver health
• Best paired with a light, low-oil, low-sugar diet
• If you have diagnosed fatty liver or other liver disease, treat this as a supportive food only and follow your doctor

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Jiaogulan (jiao gu lan): traditionally valued as a supportive, protective herb for the liver.
• Red dates (hong zao): warming and nourishing, they round out the bitterness and support the blood in traditional terms.
• White rice (bai mi): turns it into a congee, so the herbal liquid sits longer in the gut and is absorbed gently.

Ingredients (2–3 bowls)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Jiaogulan	~19 g	In a tea bag
Red dates	12	Rinsed
White rice	~76 g	Rinsed
Slab brown sugar	to taste

Method

1. Put the jiaogulan in a tea-bag pouch.
2. Simmer it with the rinsed red dates and white rice into a congee.
3. Stir in slab sugar until dissolved. Eat to taste.

Bro Niu’s tips

Jiaogulan is sold at tea shops and some Chinese-medicine stores. You can first decoct the jiaogulan in water for about 15 minutes, strain it, then use that liquid to cook the congee. The same jiaogulan can be re-steeped for drinking afterward.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (kanas): I already have fatty liver — what can help with everyday care? Bro Niu: Fatty liver is managed mainly through a light diet. Day to day, you can use ingredients like hawthorn, jiaogulan, chrysanthemum, cassia seed and lotus leaf in soups or teas to help support the situation.

• Q (Daphne): Can I skip the rice and just simmer it as a drink? Bro Niu: Yes, you can make it as a tea. Cooking it with rice simply lets the congee carry the herbal liquid and stay in the gut a little longer for gentler absorption.

• Q (Joyce): Is this cooked savoury or sweet? Bro Niu: Sweet — no savoury seasoning needed. It already has a faint natural sweetness of its own.

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Published August 8, 2011 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 2 min read.