Serves 8
- 2 cups black ‘forbidden’ rice
- 3½ cups water
- 1 cup cooked adzuki beans – freshly cooked or from can
- 1 cup peas, lightly cooked
- 1 cup broccoli florets, lightly steamed
- 1 cup dried black mushrooms, soaked, drained, sliced – or substitute porcini or other mushrooms, fresh or dried
- 1 cup chestnuts, chopped – or substitute sliced walnuts, cashew, or pumpkin seeds
- 1 bunch parsley or cilantro, washed
- ½–1 cup chopped arame seaweed, soaked and drained
- ½ cup scallion, finely sliced, raw
- 1 cup grapeseed oil
- ⅓ cup tamari
- 2 Tbsp Shanxi black vinegar – or substitute 1 Tbsp each rice vinegar and balsamic
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- Sea salt to taste
Cook the black rice using steam absorption method: bring water and rice to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, do not stir. Allow to rest and cool a bit.
In a large bowl combine the adzuki beans, peas, broccoli florets, mushrooms, chestnut bits, arame and scallions.
In a smaller bowl, mix the dressing – the oil, tamari, vinegar and toasted sesame oil. Pour the dressing over the vegetables, stir to mix.
Gently mix in the rice. Taste for balance, adjust as needed.
Stir in the chopped parsley or cilantro, reserving a bit for garnish. Serve at room temperature. Keeps well for several days in the fridge.
Energetics
Black rice is a wonderful kidney support food. In earlier times the entire crop of black rice was reserved for the Imperial Chinese court that resided in the Forbidden City, prized for its value for health and longevity – this is why it is marketed today as ‘forbidden rice’.
Adzuki beans support kidneys, build blood, calm emotions, and aid liver function.
Arame seaweed is cleansing and nourishing – being black and with a gently salty taste from the sea it is also a kidney food.
Chestnuts are known as the king of nuts in Chinese medicine dietetics. Their deep feel with an inner sweetness nourish us at the constitutional level.
Black mushrooms are also an important kidney supporting food. Mushrooms help clear dampness while supporting original qi and good immune function.
The raw scallions give a gentle nudge through their sharp taste to energize the digestion process and move fluids.
The gentle sourness of black vinegar stimulates digestion as well, but more importantly helps the liver hold the healthy blood that is being made from such good food. When the message from our food is that we have enough of what we need – not too much, that’s a different issue – then the internal organs can relax.
Black Shanxi vinegar is available in Chinatown markets or online, but be sure to read the ingredients – the real stuff has no added sugar or colouring and is made from sorghum or millet. It’s beautiful: deep, very mildly acidic, and full of flavour.
Make the dish your own
Add salt, other vinegars, spices… the dish is essentially a rice salad and the sauce can be seen as a dressing. Toasted sesame seed oil also speaks to the kidneys, the home of original qi. Mustard seed or prepared mustard is a nice addition – mustard’s natural spicy sharpness warms the belly for good digestion.
But be careful that your improvisations follow the theme – it’s your original qi we’re feeding here, it’s good to be respectful of what you are made of.
Andrew Sterman is the author of Welcoming Food: Diet as Medicine for the Home Cook and Other Healers. The two-volume Welcoming Food offers a unique entry into understanding the energetics of food, explains how foods work in common sense language, and provides easy-to-follow recipes for everyday eating.
Andrew teaches food energetics classes and sees private clients for dietary therapy and medical qigong in New York City and online. He has studied deeply in holistic cooking, meditation, and qigong, and for 25 years has been a student of Daoist Master Jeffrey Yuen in herbal medicine, qigong, and dietary therapy from the classical Chinese medicine tradition.
www.andrewsterman.com/food
