Hi everyone, I’m Xiao Mi Zhou. Millet porridge is widely recognized as an excellent food for stomach health. Whenever you feel stomach discomfort, a bowl of warm millet porridge can bring immediate relief. Suitable for everyone from infants to centenarians, this simple dish actually contains numerous little techniques that make all the difference. Today, I’ll share these details with you - guaranteed easy to follow!

Ingredients & Preparation

Today we’re using pumpkin and millet as our main ingredients.

Choosing Millet:

• Always select this year’s new millet
• Should have golden yellow color
• Should carry a natural fragrant aroma

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Washing the Millet

• Place 100g millet in a bowl
• Add clean water and gently rinse with a spoon
• Important: Never rub the millet vigorously with hands
• Reason: Millet surface contains valuable nutrients that can be lost through rough handling

2. Soaking

• After rinsing, add cool water and soak for 30 minutes
• This helps soften the grains and release nutrients

3. Preparing Pumpkin

• While millet soaks, prepare pumpkin
• Wash thoroughly, peel the skin, and remove seeds
• Cut into small cubes
• Place in plate for later use

4. Additional Ingredients

• Prepare a small handful of goji berries (optional)
• Soak if using

5. Cooking Process

• Add 1500ml water to pot
• Cover and bring to boil over high heat
• Crucial Step: Add millet ONLY after water boils
• Why? Cold water start prevents proper starch gelatinization, resulting in watery porridge

6. Adding Pumpkin

• Add pumpkin cubes after millet
• Bring back to boil and skim off any foam
• Benefit: Boiling water start prevents millet from sticking to bottom

7. Simmering

• After skimming, cover and reduce to low heat
• Simmer for 20 minutes

8. Final Steps

• After 20 minutes, porridge should be thick and creamy
• Stir frequently with spoon to prevent sticking
• You should see a thick layer of natural “millet oil” on surface

9. For Babies

• Mash pumpkin into puree for smoother texture
• Naturally sweet - no sugar needed

10. Finishing Touch

• Add goji berries
• Cover and turn off heat
• Let sit for 10 minutes using residual heat

✅ Key Success Factors

1. Use current year’s new millet
2. Soak before cooking to release nutrients
3. ALWAYS add to boiling water
4. Let sit covered after cooking for perfect texture

Final Result

Your millet porridge should be:

• Fragrant
• Creamy
• With thick millet oil layer
• Visually appealing