Chestnut and sweet corn congee

cooked this a while back too...the recipe is from a book i bought when i went to the Suntec Bookfair with the lovely V...she picked it up and passed it to me with a bemused expression...well, the book does have a ridiculous sounding title, "Delicacies for Skin Whitening'...
I think she didn't expect me to buy it but i did...(every time i go back to Singapore, i get chided by my sisters for becoming darker..."Ting ah!! why u so dark!!! Never use sunscreen???!!!" So for my birthday this year, i got from my three sisters: Sunscreen, whitening serum and goat's milk whitening body wash...!!!!)

According to the book,

"Chestnuts benefit the stomach, the spleen and the kidneys. There (sic) are hard to digest. Do not eat too much at one time. Diabetes patients should avoid chestnuts altogether.

The sweet corn is nutritious, as it contains protein, fats and vitamins. Having this dish in meals regularly improves appetitie, benefits the spleen, whitens the skin and improves skin resilience."

Honestly, i never knew sweet corn was so marvelleous.... :P

Chestnut and sweet corn congee

ingredients:
225 g shelled fresh chestnuts
1 cup canned sweet corn kernels
3 dried scallops
1 cup pearl rice (short grain)
1 quarter dried tangerine peel
salt and white pepper to taste

method:
1. rinse the dried scallops. Soak in water until soft.
2. Soak the dried tangerine peel in water until soft. Scrape off the pith and rinse well.
3. Boil the chestnuts in water for 3 mins. Remove the brown peel. (I couldn't find fresh ones, so got packaged ones and skipped this step)
4. Boil 10 cups of water in a pot. Add rice, chestnuts, dried scallops and dried tangerine peel.
5. Bring to the boil and then switch to low heat. Simmer for 1 hour or until the chestnuts are tender. Add sweet corn and salt.
6. Bring to the boil and serve.

What i did differently:
rinse the rice, drain and added a tsp of sesame oil and left it overnight. This makes the congee really smooth.
And the next morning, i just added everything else, other than the corn and salt to the slow cooker and put it on high for 6 hours or thereabouts.

PS: I think the whitening foods and products are not working very well...The Australian Sun is too strong....