If you don’t want to wade through my rambling, click here to jump to the recipe.
Dear Reader,
I hope you are well and have enjoyed a blissful and joy-filled week. I’ve had a fabulous week and feel happy. I feel lighter from weight loss and the lifting of some other burdens. It’s been good to speak with friends this week about a few matters and have problems resolved.
Monday is a gazetted holiday in the Australian Capital Territory; it’s also a long weekend in a few other jurisdictions in Australia. I’m looking forward to a day at home on Monday.
Because it’s Autumn and Winter is approaching, I’m thinking about some recipes for the colder weather. My favourite food is congee (also known as jook).
I’ve been thinking of variations and trying to enjoy congee while I’m in the CSIRO TWD program. I’ll start with 2 L of water and ½ cup of brown rice, and ½ cup of quinoa.
I’ve posted many congee recipes here; the most recent was in November 2022.
After using a packet of low-sodium French onion soup mix to form a cooking liquor last week, I considered French onion soup a flavouring for congee rather than relying on meat and bones. I also thought I’d mix some brown rice and quinoa while at it.
On the topic of low sodium, you may be interested in a WHO report released this week [1]. I also read an interesting article on a paradigm shift in thinking about sodium regulation [2]. Of course, there is an argument to be salty (English Standard Version, 2012, Mark 9:50) [3].
Rugby league
Last week I mentioned it was round one of the National Rugby League competition. It was the first game in the NRL of my new number-one team, the Dolphins. They won. All four Queensland NRL teams enjoyed victories in their round one matches, viz., the Brisbane Broncos, the North Queensland Cowboys, the Gold Coast Titans, and the Dolphins. It was joyous. I was ecstatic. My father and brothers were all happy as we texted each other during the games.
The defeated teams, though, will bounce back in round two and make for better competition. A season has victories and defeats, and it all helps build the excitement of the competition. It is, after all, just a game. That said, in the end, rugby league just gets better.
This week, the Dolphins are playing the Canberra Raiders. Many of my Canberra friends are fans and members of the Canberra Raiders club. I look forward to conversations about the game next week.
Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- Brown rice (½ cup [100 g], uncooked)
- Tri-colour quinoa (½ cup [100 g], uncooked)
- French onion soup mix (low sodium)
- Tap water (8 cups [2 L])
- Freshly pounded and ground black peppercorns
- Spring onions
- Red chilli flakes (1 tablespoon)
Instructions
- Wash the rice and quinoa until the water runs clear. Did you know the water draining from the bowl as you clean rice looks like the faeces of patients with cholera? Hence the description, “rice water stool.”
- Add the rice, quinoa, pepper, soup mix, and water to the pressure cooker.
- Cook under pressure for 30 minutes and allow 15 minutes for a natural release.
- Stir the rice gruel and keep heating to the desired thickness.
- Season to taste (I know I’m trying to lower my sodium intake, so do this carefully).
- Add and stir through chilli to taste.
- Transfer everything to a large serving bowl
- Transfer congee to individual bowls
- Give thanks to the Lord.
- Serve with spring onions, shredded cabbage, and soy sauce (low sodium if you have it).
Thoughts on the meal
It’s not often I go meat-free, but tonight I did.
Given a choice, I’d go with the traditional congee using arborio rice and some meat, like chicken or some fatty pork. One tablespoon of red hot chilli flakes is also a bit much. The mucosa of my throat is on fire.
The mass of the food before cooking was 2200 g. The mass of the food after cooking was 1720 g. I’m figuring if I have a cup full of congee it’ll be roughly a tenth of the nutritional value (detailed table of all values) of the total.
It was a bit soupy but I’ve got heaps of time to get it right before winter really hits. I think I may reduce the ratio of quinoa because it really is quite nutty in flavour.
Because I’m lazy and do not like mathematics:
| Element | Value per cup |
|---|---|
| Kilojoules | 300 |
| Protein | 2.3 g |
| Total fat | 1 g |
| Total carbohydrates | 14 g |
| Sugar | |
| Fibre | 0.7 g |
| Sodium | 17 g |
Final thoughts
I hope you have a wonderful week.
Are you doing anything exciting? Let me know in the comments.
Photographs
Nutrition information
| Brown rice | Quinoa | French onion soup (Sodium reduced) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrition per 100 g | Nutrition per 100 g | Nutrition per 100 mL | |
| Kilojoules | 1450 | 1580 | 55 |
| Calories | 347 | 376 | 13 |
| Protein | 7.9 g | 15.2 g | 0.3 g |
| Total fat | 3.1 g | 7.3 g | <0.1 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.5 g | 1 g | <0.1 g |
| Total carbohydrates | 69.1 g | 68.4 g | 3.0 g |
| Total sugars | 1.1 g | 5.2 g | 0.5 g |
| Fibre | 3.5 g | 10.6 g | 0.1 g |
| Sodium | 2 mg | 5 mg | 160 mg |
| Alcohol | 0 g | 0 g | |
| Beta carotene equivalent | 0 μg | 8 μg | |
| Caffeine | 0 mg | 0 mg | |
| Calcium | 7 mg | 40.8 mg | |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg | |
| Folate | 36.8 μg | 183.1 μg | |
| Iodine | 20.4 μg | 0.5 μg | |
| Iron | 0.8 mg | 4.9 mg | |
| Magnesium | 118.4 mg | 167.2 mg | |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1 g | 2 g | |
| Niacin | 5.8 mg | 0 mg | |
| Niacin equivalent | 7.5 mg | 2.8 mg | |
| Omega 3 Fat | 0 mg | 48.7 mg | |
| Phosphorus | 312.4 mg | 375.1 mg | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1.1 g | 3.4 g | |
| Potassium | 230 mg | 560.2 mg | 45 mg |
| Retinol | 0 μg | 0 μg | |
| Retinol equivalent | 0 μg | 1 μg | |
| Riboflavin | 0 mg | 0 mg | |
| Selenium | 13.9 μg | 0 μg | |
| Starch and dextrin | 67.7 g | 49 g | |
| Thiamine | 0.4 mg | 0.3 mg | |
| Trans Fat | 0 g | 0 g | |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 μg | 0 μg | |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.2 mg | 0.3 mg | |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg | 0 mg | |
| Water | 13.9 g | 12.3 g | |
| Zinc | 1.7 mg | 3.6 mg |
References
1. World Health Organization. WHO global report on sodium intake reduction. 2023 [cited 2023 20230311]; Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240069985.
2. Kirabo, A., A new paradigm of sodium regulation in inflammation and hypertension. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, 2017. 313(6): p. R706-r710.
3. Collins Anglicised ESV Bibles, Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV) Anglicised Edition. 2012: HarperCollins Publishers.
That looks really tasty Gary and nice and thick too! Last night I made a spicy Korean congee using leftover Korean rice. Mr NQN doesn’t like rice unless it’s congee so I just added some stock to it and cooked it.
Oh, that sounds wonderful, Lorraine.
Adding the hit red chilli flakes certainly helped with the flavour on Saturday night.
I’ve since discovered that the congee improved substantially after a few days in the refrigerator. While I would never contemplate discarding a meal, I wasn’t looking forward to leftovers, but I was very pleasantly surprised.
I don’t think my life is enriched by learning of similarities between cholera patient faeces and rinsed rice water. However congee is my go to / feel good meal when anyone is feeling a bit off colour. Interesting with the addition of quinoa but well done for keeping within the guidelines of your TWB diet. Yes, add chilli.
Hi Merryn,
Thanks. 😊
It wouldn’t be a Yummy Lummy post without some “special extra information”. 😆
In retrospect, I think I’ll use arborio rice sans quinoa next time. I’ll just eat less for each meal.
Such a colorful dish–and what a great way to use up onion soup packets–we have a few lying around the house. Cheers!
Hi Cecilia,
In retrospect, I think this meal would have been better with traditional arborio rice sans quinoa. I think the French onion soup mix, however, is worth trying. That’s what I’ll be doing next time.
Didn’t like quinoa myself.
Hi Katharine,
Given a choice, I’d go with rice alone. That said, I did have a choice and made this. I’m not sure I’d do it again.
Enjoy your long weekend, Gaz! I’m still working on persuading myself to like Quinoa (there is a packet of the smoked stuff gathering dust at the back of my cupboard) but your dish looks fresh and delicious.
Hi Emma,
Thanks 😊
I’m not sure I can say I like quinoa, it’s okay, and its nutrition properties seem to be beneficial.