Fu Ge (Kudzu) and Brown Rice Congee

Why people make this congee

Nourilo often reaches for kudzu (fu ge) because it is traditionally used to “open and disperse” pent-up heat. Cooked into a congee, it is traditionally associated with releasing the surface and easing fever, lifting the yang, calming the stomach, and quenching thirst. It’s a gentle, comforting bowl for a wind-heat cold with fever, headache and that tight, stiff neck-and-shoulder feeling — and is also traditionally used for a child’s wind-heat fever and queasiness.

Method

1. Peel the kudzu and cut into small chunks.
2. Combine with the brown rice and water and cook into a congee of medium-thick consistency.
3. Serve to taste.

Nourilo’s Tips

This congee is fragrant and pleasant, and is associated with helping high-blood-pressure headache, angina and weak-spleen loose stools. Note: red brown rice should be soaked for 3–4 hours so it softens easily; eating the kudzu pieces, not just the congee, gives a better effect.