Rice and Yogurt
June 18, 2011 • Category: Whole Grain/Bulgur/Rice, Main Dish
This is what we were served when we’d complain of an upset stomach growing up in Beirut.
Some rice and some plain yogurt.
I have used this remedy my whole life and don’t plan on modifying it. (It works).
What about you? Care to share what you do?
P.S: Guess how many hospitals in the US offer plain yogurt on their cafeteria menus?
Comments
43 Comments • Comments Feed
Kalyn says:
Here in Utah my mother always gave us milk toast when we had an upset stomach. It was a piece of dry toast placed in a bowl, covered with hot milk and sometimes a pat of butter on top. I still eat it to this day if I’m sick, but now I’d use whole wheat bread. It seems that the idea is somewhat the same (a bland carbohydrate mixed with a bland dairy product.)
On June 18, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Jack Fargher says:
My g/f, Armenian from Cyprus, eats this religiously but always with a splosh of soy sauce! It tastes pretty good.
On June 18, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Claudia says:
Interesting… we always seem to do flat ginger ale.
On June 18, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Louise says:
I’ve always used yogurt for all types of “belly” aches. However, never thought about the addition of rice. Sounds good:)
Thanks for sharing, Joumana…
P.S. It’s that time of year again, time to “play” the Picnic Game. Boy oh boy, it sure sounds like we’re going to have a basket brimming with goodies. Wanna play?
On June 18, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Scienter says:
My parents always gave me Pepsi for an upset stomach. I’d be surprised if a lot of US hospitals offered plain yogurt. Most people I know think plain yogurt is “weird.” It’s a food group in my house!
On June 18, 2011 at 9:42 pm
sophia says:
Oh that’s interesting…so it’s like rice pudding? Makes sense that it’s good for upset stomach: simple carb and probiotics!
On June 18, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Sally - My Custard P says:
Sorry but Marmite on toast is the only thing I fancy when I’m ill!
On June 19, 2011 at 12:34 am
samir says:
.. yansoon tea ( anise) or babunaj combined with yansoon for upset stomach. the best stuff. ….and rice and laban as well.. but I actually drink these tisanes anytime..they are so calming ..
On June 19, 2011 at 1:20 am
Chiara says:
Interesting ! Thank for sharing Joumana, have a good Sunday….
On June 19, 2011 at 1:26 am
Tuty says:
For many Asians, we eat rice congee/porridge (rice and water) to ease any gastrointestinal issues. For flavoring, we are “allowed” to add some soy sauce or a little bit of shredded boiled chicken or fish (when using fish, we also add some slivered ginger which is good for nausea). For drinks, hot tea or ginger tea lightly sweetened with rock sugar.
Plain rice and plain yogurt…. that’s new to me. Perhaps, I will try it someday 🙂
On June 19, 2011 at 2:14 am
pierre says:
coca cola without bubbles and at room temperature in my youth !
pas de yaourt en france non plus je pense dans les hopitaux !!pierre
On June 19, 2011 at 2:50 am
lazydazy says:
salam , your soooo right , same as our house , we in kuwait make also tomato rice wich is ever better and more yummy .. thanks and teslam alayadi
On June 19, 2011 at 5:00 am
Belinda @zomppa says:
Hmm…good combination! Clean food.
On June 19, 2011 at 5:21 am
Mark Wisecarver says:
Love this. For me its a mixture of our Lebanese and Brazilian cultures. . .
I can’t do without my homemade Kefir each day, which I blend with Brazilian Acai.
My 3 kids have come to depend on it and love the healthy blend.
On June 19, 2011 at 9:11 am
Chris says:
I love plain laban with rice. Definitely good for the stomach.
On June 19, 2011 at 9:46 am
Marina says:
Great combo! I used only yoghurt or only rice. Look yummy together!
On June 19, 2011 at 10:20 am
Priya says:
Definitely a wonderful meal..
On June 19, 2011 at 11:00 am
Meister@Nervous Cook says:
My grandmother always gave me dry toast and black tea for an upset stomach. My husband is more of a mashed-potatoes and grilled-cheese-sandwich guy, which sounds so heavy and goopy to me I can’t imagine it doing anything but upsetting my stomach more! (I think he just likes it as an excuse to get a grilled-cheese sandwich.)
On June 19, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Isabelle says:
I eat rice and drink a light vegetable “bouillon” (broth ?). Rice and nature yogurt look good.
On June 19, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Magic of Spice says:
I have never tried this before, we were always given flat soda when I was a kid. Yogurt cultures are excellent for digestion so this makes sense 🙂
Hope you had a great weekend
On June 19, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Dana says:
We tend to rely on flat ginger ale, or straciatella soup for upset tummies. This looks tasty as well as good for a stomach ache!
On June 19, 2011 at 2:52 pm
gaininja says:
I normally make okayu – http://japanesefood.about.com/od/rice/r/okayu.htm – but this sounds great too – the addition of the yoghurt is a really good idea. Might try it next time 🙂
On June 19, 2011 at 3:28 pm
Vagabonde says:
This regimen of plain yogurt and rice really works. I had a bad upset stomach in Dubai after eating from some street vendor – I stuck to rice and yogurt for the day, and voila ! my stomach ache was soon gone.
On June 19, 2011 at 9:12 pm
Yasmeen says:
Ruz w laban, classic ill-tummy food. Still eat this regularly… even when not sick 🙂
On June 20, 2011 at 5:33 am
elise says:
Merci de ton commentaire, à double titre puisqu’ainsi je découvre ton blog très joli, sur lequel je repasserai souvent !
On June 20, 2011 at 5:46 am
Nuts about food says:
white rice and yogurt are both great for tummies and digestions, so the two of them together surely work wonders. Hope you weren’t feeling sick?
On June 20, 2011 at 6:04 am
Green Shushi says:
That’s what we do too! And it works great!
On June 20, 2011 at 7:03 am
Gette says:
Mom used to make it for us and still does it when we are sick. I make it for my husband too and myself if we are sick!
On June 20, 2011 at 8:00 am
theremina says:
In Greece, rice is the traditional remedy.
On June 20, 2011 at 9:57 am
Caffettiera says:
In my family it is pasta with a bit of olive oil and parmesan. In my partner’s family it is rice and potateos, boiled together, with olive oil and parmesan. I prefer his.
On June 21, 2011 at 9:23 am
tigerfish says:
For the Chinese, it is usually porridge/congee made from rice grains and lots of water!
On June 21, 2011 at 10:56 am
Krista says:
This is exactly what I’d want if I were sick. I’m SO glad you posted this. 🙂
On June 21, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Juanita says:
Black rooibos (red bush) tea…a herbal tea from South Africa which soothes cramps.
On June 21, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Margaret says:
A tablespoon of ‘Tayta’s medicine’….rose water.
On June 21, 2011 at 6:56 pm
Nina says:
Had no idea anyone outside of south India ate yoghurt and rice! Here we have it (at least!) once a day, everyday, and not only because people believe that it’s good for digestion. Folks here just love it, especially when had with pickled vegetables.
On June 22, 2011 at 6:24 am
Kamol says:
That’s absolutely true. We call it yolg’onho’rda. It’s been popular for centuries in Uzbekistan.
On June 24, 2011 at 1:10 am
Rajani says:
Wow! This is exactly what we (south) Indians have, when something is not so right with our tummy. We call it curd rice. Its rice with plain yogurt. At times, we do a ‘tadka’ – oil tempered with mustard seeds, but most of the times its rice with plain yogurt.
On August 13, 2011 at 7:11 am
Hana says:
Ruz w laban is a staple in our house too for upset stomachs, or plain yogurt on spaghetti – which all kids like even when they’re not sick! My American mom always said to follow the BRAT diet: Bread, Rice, Apples and Tea. My in-laws tend to give boiled potatoes, or a spoonful of orange blossom water. It all works!
On September 4, 2011 at 10:27 am
Dolly says:
As a Native Hawaiian, Poi is the answer for any belly aches. Poi is derived from the root corm of the Taro plant. The Taro root is peeled, cooked and pulverized or mashed into a smooth consistency which then becomes “poi”. It is chocked full of vitamins and antioxidants and is very nutritional. Native Hawaiians have eaten Poi for thousands of years and it usually is eaten along with fish or some other protein like roasted pork. But, when ever I get a belly ache I always get immediate relief with just a bowl of plain poi. Eating poi alone for any stomach ailments is very medicinal and has always helped me. I know it may not be readily available in the mainland, but some Asian stores in the SF Bay area order weekly shipments from Hawaii. And, by way of the internet, Poi can easily be obtained through order/shipment.
On March 21, 2013 at 9:06 pm
Joumana says:
@Dolly: Thank you for the info! I would love to try it!
On March 22, 2013 at 4:54 am
Bindu says:
The best way to treat chronic gastritis or stomach ulcer is yogurt rice but the recipe is different than the regular yogurt mixing with rice. This one is a life savior.
For Chronic Gastrits – at night before bed cook rice very soft and let it cool. take the rice in a bowl which has narrow mouth.once the rice is cool pour warm milk in excess amount. Now culture it with a 1/4th tsp of plain yogurt(which is not at all sour-(try to get the culture from any indian family if you can as they make it on a daily basis which has healthy cultures)). early in the morning it turns like yogurt rice,add a pinch of salt and water if needed for an edible consistency. try this early in the morning on empty stomach for 45 days and live gastritis free for next 10 yrs.
Make sure the rice doesn’t get the sour taste.
On October 29, 2013 at 7:28 am
Gaby says:
hope it isn’t too late for me to post a comment here…I stumbled upon this blog a couple of days ago whilst in search of a hearty yet simple recipe for my all-time favourite, molokhia…
anyway, whenever we kids happen to suffer from an upset stomach, my late grandmother would always fix us a drink of hot water sweetened with a good dose of honey…apparently the sweetness of the honey helps to “neutralise” the acids that are responsible for causing the stomachache…as for my parents, well, they always recommend charcoal tablets from the pharmacy, which I hate, but it works just as fine as my late grandma’s hot honey drink…
Although yoghurt or any other dairy product is very seldom recommended to remedy an upset stomach over here in Malaysia, especially since traditional Malaysian cuisine relies little on dairy foods, I do believe in the healing properties of yoghurt; whenever I go out for an authentic South Indian lunch served on a wide banana leaf, one of the final courses involves pouring moru (a savoury concoction of seasoned diluted curds) over white rice, as yoghurt is said to be capable of “cooling down” the digestive system especially after all the spicy food from the previous courses, but I personally enjoy downing my moru in a single swig (moru is served either in small ever-silver stainless steel tumblers or bowls) as I would be too full to eat any more rice for the final course…
On November 1, 2013 at 11:57 am
Suhad says:
My Teta used to add garlic to it. It would always make me feel better.
On January 15, 2024 at 7:31 am