Black-eyed bean, tangerine peel and pork congee
Congee simmered with black-eyed beans and aged tangerine peel, finished with tender marinated pork — fragrant, light and good at clearing damp.
- 1 hr 20 min
- Serves 3
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Grain Buds brings heavy rain and damp, and a Phlegm-damp constitution easily feels a heavy head, a sluggish body, a poor appetite and a thick tongue coating. Black-eyed beans strengthen the spleen and resolve damp, tangerine peel regulates qi and dries damp, and a light pork congee leaves you feeling lighter for the morning.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 70 min- 1Rinse and soak the black-eyed beans for 2 hours (or overnight). Soak the tangerine peel, scrape off the pith and shred.
- 2Bring the water to the boil, add the beans, rice, tangerine peel and ginger, boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer for 50 minutes until the beans are soft.
- 3Marinate the pork with the soy sauce and cornflour for 10 minutes.
- 4Bring the congee back to the boil, stir in the pork and cook for 3–5 minutes until done. Season with salt.
Cautions
- Too many beans can cause bloating, so use fewer if your digestion is weak; tangerine peel is drying, so go easy if you have a dry mouth and red tongue.
Chef's tips
- Soaking the beans first helps them soften. You can also leave the congee in a thermal cooker overnight, then reheat and add the pork in the morning.
The TCM view
Black-eyed beans are sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen, settling the stomach and resolving damp. Tangerine peel is pungent, bitter and warm, regulating qi, strengthening the spleen and drying damp to transform phlegm. Lean pork is sweet, salty and neutral and builds strength, rice settles the stomach and ginger rouses the spleen. Clears damp and nourishes without clogging — suited to Phlegm-damp.
