Clear and Bright · Breakfast · Damp-Heat
Shepherd's purse and fish slice congee
Congee base made on the rice cooker timer, then finished in the morning with fish slices and fragrant shepherd's purse.
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves 2
- Simmer
- Easy
CoolingClears heat and dampCools the blood
Why it suits you: Damp-heat types tend to get a bitter mouth, spots and dark urine in the warm, humid Clear and Bright weeks. Sweet, cool shepherd's purse clears heat, drains damp and cools the blood, while grass carp warms the stomach to balance it, in a light congee with no grease.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 60 min- 1The night before, rinse the rice and put it in the rice cooker with the water on the porridge programme, timed to finish in the morning.
- 2Toss the fish with a little salt, the cornflour and ginger and leave for 5 minutes. Wash and chop the shepherd's purse.
- 3Bring the congee to the boil, add the shepherd's purse for 2 minutes, then the fish for 1 minute until white. Season with salt and scatter with spring onion.
Chef's tips
- Grass carp belly slices from the wet market work well, or use frozen sole fillet.
The TCM view
Shepherd's purse is sweet and cool, clearing heat, draining damp and cooling the blood. Grass carp is sweet and warm and settles the stomach; rice strengthens the spleen. Cool and warm together clear damp-heat without upsetting digestion.
