Instant Pot Chicken Congee for Spleen Support
Relieve internal dampness and heal your spleen with a cozy cup of Instant Pot Chicken Congee. Creamy, warming, and nutritious, this healthy congee recipe is your secret to wellness.
Servings: 10 cups
Calories: 147kcal
Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 quart (pressure Cooker)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup rice dried uncooked (We used Jasmine long grained white rice)
- ¾ cup job's tears dried (also called coix seeds, Chinese pearl barley)
- ½ cup azuki beans dried (red beans)
- 6 - 8 whole jujubes dried Chinese red dates
- 1 tablespoon goji berries dried optional
- 2 inch ginger fresh knob (peeled and sliced) *See notes
- ¼ cup mandarin orange peel pith removed or hold the 2 droppers of Chen Pi drops - only add when you are ready to serve AFTER cooking. (*see notes)
- 6-8 whole shiitake mushrooms dried
- 6 ounces chicken breast chopped finely or whole chicken thighs with the bone. Remove skin and fat before putting in Instant Pot.
- 10.5 cups chicken bone broth
- 2-3 cubes chicken bouillon optional (*see notes)
- white pepper to taste
- 3 whole green onions sliced (white part for the congee soup. Reserve green section for a garnish)
- salt to taste (*see notes)
Congee Toppings (optional)
- green onions optional
- sesame oil optional
- soy sauce optional (tamari/ coconut aminos to keep gluten free)
Instructions
- Measure out ¾ cup rice, ¾ cup job's tear, ½ cup azuki red beans, jujubes, goji berries and shiitake mushrooms and rinse and drain in a colander. Place the mixture into the Instant Pot.
- Then add the ginger, mandarin orange peel, prepared chicken, 10.5 cups chicken bone broth, optional chicken bouillon cubes and white pepper into the Instant Pot.
- Close and lock the Instant Pot lid making sure the nozzle is set to seal. Press the porridge function on the Instant pot. Set it for 40 minutes on high pressure. (* See notes.)
- Once the chicken congee is done cooking allow it to perform a natural release for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully, release the remaining pressure until the metal knob falls.
- Carefully open the pressure cooker lid, remove the fresh ginger slices and mandarin orange peel.
- Serve while warm and top with your favorite toppings. We love a little green onion, sesame oil and a dash of tamari sauce. (See notes for other delicious topping ideas) If you plan on using chen pi drops, add them to bowl upon serving.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips
- The measurements are in US cups! Please note that a US cup (240 ml) is about ¼ cup larger than an Asian cup (180 ml).
- Make sure you are using at least 6 quart Instant Pot (pressure Cooker)
- It will take at least 15 - 30 minutes for the Instant Pot to heat up depending on how cool your ingredients are.)
- If you prefer a stronger ginger flavor, you can finely mince or grate it instead of slicing.
- Ratio of rice and beans to water is sensitive to any ingredient changes.
- To achieve the perfect thick creamy texture, use 10.5 US cups of water, measured rice, red beans, and job’s tears with 40 minutes in the Instant pot “porridge setting”.
- If you do not use any rice and opt to use only Job’s Tears and red beans, you will need more water and need more time to cook.
- Likewise, if you use only rice without beans or jobs tears, you will need much less water and much less time to cook – otherwise it will be complete mush and too watery.
- Chen Pi (dried mandarin orange peel) is difficult to source but is a good way to relieve internal dampness. We used fresh mandarin orange peel as we knew this would be easy for you to source. If you have access to dried mandarin orange peel that is even better. Alternatively, you can purchase from Root + Spring's Chen pi Tangerine Peel drops and add a dropper or two when serving. Do not add before cooking.
- This spleen supporting chicken congee will thick upon standing.
- Want the congee thinner? Add more bone broth or water and seasonings to get to your desired thickness level.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 453mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 22IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
