Mung Bean and Loquat Leaf Congee

Why people make this congee

Rosacea (a red, flushed nose) isn’t only a drinker’s complaint — research suggests people with very active oil glands are more prone to it, and some cases come from a follicle mite that dilates the tiny blood vessels of the nose. Living somewhere with poor sanitation can invite that mite; a medicated cream often helps those cases, while redness from drinking or overactive oil glands is harder to settle. On the food-therapy side, Nourilo suggests a congee made with mung beans and loquat leaf, traditionally used to clear lung heat and cool the blood, to help ease the appearance of rosacea.

Method

1. Soak and rinse the mung beans; rinse the loquat leaf.
2. First simmer the loquat leaf in 1.5 L of water for half an hour; strain out the leaf and keep the liquid.
3. Use that liquid to cook the mung beans and rice into a congee of medium thickness, then add rock sugar and stir until dissolved. Serve.

Nourilo’s Tips

Water bamboo (jiao bai) is sold at southern-goods shops and can also be cooked into congee for this purpose; peeled and mashed, it can be applied externally to help ease the symptoms too.