The Korean porridge is juk, 죽, and Dakjuk 닭죽 is the chicken porridge.
Korean juk is made by boiling rice, or other grains or legumes (such as beans, sesame, nuts, and pumpkin) in more water than when preparing bap.
It is eaten hot, especially as breakfast.
Thanks to its soft consistency and proven nutritional benefits, it is a classic convalescence dish served to the sick, and it is considered ideal for young children and the elderly due to its digestibility, like Chinese congee and Japanese zōsui and okayu.
The Korean porridge is juk, 죽, and Dakjuk 닭죽 is chicken porridge, made with chicken broth and chicken meat. Traditionally, dakjuk is made with chicken broth and chicken meat. It is often made with leftovers from chicken soup, like dak gomtang (닭곰탕) or baesuk (백숙).
Ancient Korean literature mentions at least forty varieties of juk: white (huinjuk), with milk (tarak-juk), with fruit (yeolmae-juk), with beans, seafood, or meat.
Ingredients like Job’s tears, lotus roots, water chestnuts, or arrowroot are believed to provide medicinal effects to the juk.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 7 Minutes
- Portions: 2People
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Korean
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 cup glutinous rice
- 4.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 carrot
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 cloves garlic
- to taste ginger
- to taste sesame oil
- to taste salt and pepper
- to taste sesame seeds
- 1 green onion
Steps
Boil the chicken for 5 minutes in water with garlic and ginger. Season with oil, salt, and pepper, and shred.
Soak the rice for 30 minutes.
Rinse it and cook it in the broth for 25 minutes.
Chop the vegetables and add them to the rice with the chicken and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.
Serve with the green part of the green onion, a drizzle of oil, and sesame seeds.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What are the Korean variants of juk?
Prepared with all kinds of grains, proteins, and vegetables, there are infinite porridge variations in Korea.
Besides chicken porridge (dakjuk), red bean porridge (patjuk, 팥죽), pumpkin porridge (hobakjuk, 호박죽), pine nut porridge (jatjuk, 잣죽), and abalone porridge (jeonbokjuk, 전복죽) are some of the most popular varieties.What is the difference between juk, congee, and zōsui?
The Chinese congee involves long cooking of rice with lots of water until the grains melt and a thick porridge forms.
Okayu is made with a smaller amount of water and a shorter cooking time than Cantonese juk, resulting in a less thick consistency. Even more liquid is zōsui, similar to a rice soup.
