Chestnut, walnut & longan blended rice porridge
Seasonal chestnuts blended with walnuts and longan into a warm, silky, naturally sweet rice porridge that warms you through.
- 35 min
- Serves 2
- Boil
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yang Deficiency means feeling the cold, with cold hands and feet; cooler Autumn Equinox mornings and office air-conditioning make a hot breakfast essential. Chestnuts, walnuts and longan are all warm — they warm the body, support the kidneys and still ease autumn dryness.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 25 min- 1Rinse the rice. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over low heat for 2–3 minutes until fragrant — you can do this the night before.
- 2Put everything except the sugar into a soy milk maker on the rice-paste setting, about 25 minutes. Weigh the ingredients the night before and keep them in the fridge.
- 3No soy milk maker? Simmer everything over medium heat for 20 minutes until the chestnuts are soft, cool slightly, blend until smooth, then reheat.
- 4Pour into bowls and drink warm. Longan is already sweet — add the sugar only if you want it sweeter.
Cautions
- Walnuts are tree nuts — leave them out if you have a nut allergy and use extra chestnuts instead.
Chef's tips
- Ready-peeled roasted chestnuts from the supermarket save peeling time; for fresh ones, score a cross in the shell and boil for 5 minutes so they peel easily.
The TCM view
Chestnut is sweet and warm and strengthens the kidneys, sinews and stomach; walnut is sweet and warm, warms the kidneys and lungs and moistens the bowels; longan is sweet and warm and nourishes the heart and spleen; rice is sweet and neutral and settles the stomach. Warming yet moistening — not drying like spicy tonics, so it suits Yang Deficiency in dry autumn.
