Comfort Food - Tonification Congee

Here's a simple recipe I toyed around with for a little while after listening to one of Nam Singh's seminars. It's an herbal congee/porridge with a few tonification herbs, but the best part is that it's pretty tasty.

1 cup white rice or jasmine rice
4 cups water
4 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder
1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
10-15 pcs lian zi (lotus seeds)
15-20 pcs gou qi zi (wolfberries)
10 pcs yu zhu (jade bamboo)
1 slice of ginger
2-3 pcs duck kidneys or 2 pcs dried scallops or both

Let dried scallops sit in a bowl of water for 30 min - 1 hr.

In a rice cooker or large pot, wash the rice thoroughly (about 3 washes) and then add water and stock. Add all remaining ingredients and let cook in rice cooker for about 1 hour. If in a pot, bring to a boil and then let simmer for about an hour. Pork meat can also be added into this recipe for meat lovers.

Lian zi - invigorates SP, nourishes HT, stringes intestines to preserve vital essence
Gou Qi Zi - nourishes and tonifies LV & KD (for yin/blood deficiency), benefits essence and brightens the eyes, enriches yin and moistens the lungs
Yu Zhu - nourishes LU & ST yin, good for dry cough and loss of appetite due to overworked ST