Papaya and milk porridge oats
Creamy oats cooked in milk with sweet ripe papaya stirred through at the end — five minutes to a soothing, moistening breakfast.
- 10 min
- Serves 2
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: As Start of Summer warms up, a Yin-deficient constitution is more prone to a dry mouth, hot palms and restless sleep. Papaya and milk both moisten dryness and generate fluids, and with oats they make a filling breakfast in five minutes.
Method
Prep 5 min · Cook 5 min- 1Peel and deseed the papaya; dice half and mash the rest.
- 2Cook the oats with the water over medium heat for 2 minutes, then add the milk and goji berries and simmer gently for 3 minutes, stirring, until thick (don't let it boil hard or the milk will catch).
- 3Take off the heat and stir in the mashed papaya, then top each bowl with the diced papaya and a drizzle of honey if you like.
Cautions
- If you're lactose intolerant, use unsweetened soya milk or oat milk; go easy on papaya if your stools tend to be loose.
Chef's tips
- Stir in the papaya off the heat and eat straight away — left standing, the fruit's enzymes can make hot milk taste bitter.
The TCM view
Papaya is sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen, aiding digestion and moistening the lungs. Milk is sweet, neutral and slightly cold, nourishing yin, moistening dryness and supporting the heart and lungs. Oats are sweet and neutral, benefiting the spleen, calming the heart and curbing sweating, and goji berries nourish the liver and kidneys. Moistening without being cold — well suited to Yin deficiency.
