Dong quai rice

A long time ago when I was at a Chinese herbal store getting some Chinese angelica – a.k.a. Angelica sinensis – dong quai – the knowledgable lady who helped me mentioned that one can add this herb to things like soups or to rice. Dong quai is sometimes called “female ginseng” and my interest in taking it is for similar reasons I would want to take Ginseng (for general tonic effects and for those who engage in a lot of fitness).

Next to Panax ginseng, the root of dong quai is undoubtedly the most honored and respected herb in China, and is quickly gaining an equal reputation among users in the rest of the world. Dong quai is used medicinally as a tonic, cardiotonic, respiratory tonic and liver tonic.
http://www.rain-tree.com/dongquai.htm

It turns out that Angelica sinensis is a member of the Apiaceae family which many people know from the ubiquitous fennel which grows wild in so many places, as well as caraway, celery, and cumin.

Adding Angelica to rice imparts a fairly intense flavor to it. You just put some pieces in with the rice and let it cook. The compounds in the Angelica will extract in the water and the rice will be infused with the flavor which is kind of hard to describe but does kind of remind me of celery.

One has to be the kind of person who enjoys herbs and exotic tastes to like it. Since it is kind of a bitter flavor I find that its nice to add a very small amount of a sweetner like honey, some vinegar, and even some hot pepper to my rice if I use Agelica to balance out the flavors. If you want to go over-the-top exotic with your rice (or other dish) this is definitely a way to do it. Unfortunately I didn’t have any wild rice on hand today when I cooked it but I have a feeling that the flavor of wild rice would really complement the Angelica.

Further reference:

buddhateas.com: Organic Dong Quai Root Tea

naturalherbsguide.com: Dong Quai Root Benefits and Medicina Uses