Warming Bone Broth Congee Soup
Updated: Oct 6, 2022
There will be lots of photos and stories coming from my Scotland/Ireland trip, (patreons get them first; check out https://www.patreon.com/Dianaverse), but today I'm talking about trip recovery.
3 of the last 4 times I've traveled, I've come back to come down with COVID. It seems to be replacing the cold/flu I typically get while traveling. Despite taking supplements, throat spray, and elderberry; the stress of cramped vehicles with coughing, hacking people and time changes overwhelms my immune system at some point almost every trip. The good news is I'm getting over it in about half the time each time now, so I still think prevention helps.
To help speed up recovery, last night I made a huge pot of bone broth chicken congee. This light soup is easy to eat, helps hydrate and we've all heard about the benefits of chicken soup; the minerals from the bones or chicken feet give the body a healing boost while the collagen soothes inflamed connective tissue.
It can be as simple as broth with a small amount of rice, but I like to add some vegetables like carrot, celery and red pepper, a bit of meat, a little sesame oil (warming) ,fish sauce (flavor) and if you look at recipes online, there are all kinds of condiments to add to fill it out.
One of the things I love about Chinese healing soups is adding the herbs you want for health benefits to the meal. While I was making the bone broth (note:add a splash of vinegar, the acidity draws more minerals out of the bones and surprisingly enough creates an alkaline condition in the digestion system, I used chive flower apple cider vinegar), I also added Dang Gui (Chinese Angelica), for blood moving, don't want stagnation settling in to linger, Bay leaves to support immune system; Coriander, carminative to support digestion, and Shiitake mushroom, adaptogen and flavor. My go-to herb company for bulk herbs is Mountain Rose Herbs. (Note that I get a tiny commission if you order herbs from my site. It helps me keep this website running)
Another key ingredient is onion, cooked in the broth to feed the gut microbiome and as raw chopped green onion, which contains sulphur, being mildly anti microbial. Personally, I find that it helps.
Making a big batch means I have soothing, light meals that just need warming, for a couple of days.
Do you have a favorite Chicken soup or Congee recipe? Post below!