Tangerine Chinese Congee (rice porridge)

Sun-dried orange peels, or tangerine peels (陈皮chen pi) are widely used in Chinese cooking. One of the most popular use of tangerine peels is in the Orange chicken recipe, but there are many other chinese recipes that use these highly nutritious orange peels. Today, I will be sharing with you one very simple chinese congee recipe, that uses these peels. It is very easy to make and is the perfect chinese breakfast recipe. Chinese  often have congee or chinese rice porridge along with buns (包子baozi) or fried bread stick(油条you tiao). I usually make a big pot of it, and keep it in a box in the fridge. In the morning, you just have to heat some of it and you got yourself a quick as well as healthy breakfast!
Back to tangerine peels: I’ve been saying about how nutritious they are. Now, what exactly are the health benefits of tangerine peels? Well, they contain fibre, which means that they will help your digestion, lower cholesterol and control your blood sugar level. They also contain Vitamin C which, as you probably all know, is an anti-oxidant and is very good against colds as well as flus. I ate my tangerine congee with some cornflakes. Delicious!

Tangerine Chinese Congee(rice porridge) recipe

Ingredients:
600ml water
1 tbsp dried orange/tangerine peels (about 10g)
1 1/4 cup of uncooked rice, washed and drained (or 1 1/2 bowl of left-over rice)
brown sugar to taste
salt

Steps:
1. Bring the water to a boil in a pot.
2. Add the tangerine peels and lower the heat to medium. Cover and let cook for 5-10 minutes. The water will change color to yellow-orange.
3. (Optional) Remove the tangerine peels, if you want, and keep for other tangerine peels recipes.
4. Add the rice and stir to mix:

(a) If using cooked rice: Add the left-over cooked rice and use your spatula to break the rice “blocks” like mine, cook for about 10minutes over medium heat. Stir continuously to prevent rice from sticking at the bottom.

(b) If using uncooked rice: Add the uncooked rice and cover. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until rice is well cooked and a consistency of your choice is obtained. Add more water if needed.

5. Add a pinch of salt and brown sugar to your taste.
6. Serve hot, or let cool before keeping in box.