The purple-black skin on the water chestnuts will turn the soup into a light purple-red color, so the water chestnuts need to be peeled when cooking Aojiu porridge.

The stems of water chestnuts are edible, so there is no need to remove them.

Aojiu porridge is one of the famous snacks unique to Fuzhou, Fujian. It is a sweet porridge cooked during the Aojiu Festival.

The main ingredients are water chestnuts, peanuts, red dates, and longan. Lotus seeds, ginkgo, etc. can be added. It is cooked with white rice, glutinous rice, and brown sugar until cooked or mashed into porridge.

Because the ingredients used in Aojiu porridge are sweet and warm, they can nourish the spleen, replenish qi and protect against cold, so eating it during the cold first month has the effect of promoting longevity.

This porridge is sticky, glutinous, smooth, sweet and delicious, rich in nutrients, easy to digest, and has the functions of strengthening the spleen, moistening the intestines, tonifying qi, calming the nerves, clearing the heart, and nourishing the blood.

It can be used as a daily nutritious meal and a delicacy to adjust the dietary life. It is especially suitable for the elderly and frail or those with weak spleen and stomach after recovering from illness.