Mung Bean, Job's Tears and Euryale Porridge

How much do you know about mung bean, coix seed and Euryale ferox porridge? Let me give you a detailed introduction to the knowledge of this porridge. I hope you like it.

Mung Bean, Job's Tears and Euryale Porridge

On the cool early autumn nights, I still like to cook a pot of rich porridge, let it cool, and eat it in the dry and cool air. Mung beans, coix seeds, and gorgon seeds, these ordinary names together, are the sweetest delicacy on a cool night.

Zheng Banqiao wrote the sentence "In the eighth month of autumn in the south of the Yangtze River, the rice is as round as the pearls of clams" to praise the Gorgon fruit. I was surprised that such a round and smooth little fruit had such an ugly name. If I were the old Suzhou person who first planted it during the Spring and Autumn Period, I would definitely give it a poetic name to match its unconventional appearance and unique taste.

After careful investigation, I found out that the calyx that contains the fruit looks like a chicken's head, which is why it has this well-deserved common name. And each chicken-head-like fruit ball contains sixty or seventy pearl-like and jade-like water chestnut grains.

"After eating water chestnuts, the chicken head is cooked. The man asked if the chicken head had any thorns on his hand." Seeing such a sentence, even if you have never seen the water chestnut leaves floating on the water, you know that it is born with thorns. But it grows in water, and it is not as beautiful as a rose, but only blooms quietly. The thorns seem to show people its arrogance. Who let it be called "ginseng in water"?

Su Dongpo said: "The family tradition of improving intelligence and strengthening the body is to chew a water chestnut every day and then swallow it slowly." This small water chestnut made his Su family occupy three seats among the "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties". This shows how extraordinary it is.

It is not easy to chew only one pearl a day. I don't know how many pearls are scattered in my bowl of porridge, and one pearl is not enough. But I will chew it carefully and swallow it slowly to fully appreciate the smoothness, tenderness, roundness and softness.

It is not easy to chew it every day. However, the eighth month of the year has arrived, and the fresh rice should be ripe. The Mid-Autumn Festival is the best time for it. While it is fresh and fragrant, eat it first.

Ingredients for mung bean, coix seed and gorgon fruit porridge

Mung bean, coix seed, Euryale ferox

How to make mung bean, coix seed and gorgon fruit porridge

1. Wash mung beans and coix seeds and soak them for 1-2 hours

2. Put the mung beans and coix seeds into the pot and cook slowly. When they are almost cooked, add the water chestnuts and stir until they are slightly cooked.

3. If it is dry gorgon fruit, soak it for the same time as beans and coix seeds, and cook them together.

Tips:

1. I use frozen gorgon fruit, which is cooked as soon as it is cooked.

2. If it is fresh, it is also easy to cook. Basically, boil it until the water boils and add rock sugar.

3. Dried gorgon fruit is common in the north, which takes a long time to cook and needs to be soaked in advance.

4. Gorgon fruit is a real local specialty, so the locals in Suzhou are the best at making it. I have only cooked porridge and sweet soup with it, just for my own enjoyment.