Heugimja-juk (Black Sesame Porridge)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Dry skillet, 9 to 10 inches wide
• •Blender, preferably high-powered
• •Heavy-bottomed 3-quart pot
• •Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the rice

   Rinse the rice in 3 or 4 changes of water, rubbing it lightly between your fingers, until the water is cloudy but no longer milky-white. Cover with cool water and soak 3 to 4 hours, then drain well. Soaking is not a politeness step. It softens the grain so the blender can grind it smooth, and smooth rice is what gives heugimja-juk its cream without milk.

2. 2

   Clean the sesame

   Put the black sesame seeds in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cool running water, rubbing them with your fingertips. Drain for 10 minutes and shake the strainer well. Sesame is small, and dust hides in it. If you put dirty seeds in the pot, you taste it in every spoonful.

3. 3

   Toast gently

   Set a dry skillet over medium-low heat and add the drained sesame seeds. Stir constantly for 6 to 8 minutes. At first the seeds will clump from moisture; then they will move separately and a few will pop. Stop when they smell nutty and one crushed seed tastes warm and round, not sharp. If you see smoke or smell bitterness, the heat was too high. Throw them out and begin again. Black sesame forgives many things, but not burning.

   Store-bought toasted black sesame can be used, but warm it in the pan for 1 minute to wake it up. Do not toast it dark again.
4. 4

   Grind the slurry

   Let the toasted sesame cool 5 minutes. Put the drained rice, toasted sesame, and 3 cups of the water into a blender. Blend 2 minutes, rest 30 seconds, then blend 1 minute more. Rub a drop between your fingers. It should feel mostly smooth, not sandy. Pour it into a heavy pot. Rinse the blender with the remaining 2 cups water and add that to the pot too, because the thick part clinging to the blender is the body of the juk.

   If your blender leaves gritty hulls, pass the slurry through a fine sieve into the pot and press it through with a spoon. A strong blender can usually skip this.
5. 5

   Cook low

   Set the pot over medium heat and stir slowly until the mixture begins to thicken, 8 to 10 minutes. When the first lazy bubbles break the surface, lower the heat to low and cook 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every minute and scraping the corners and bottom. Rice starch sinks and sesame oil catches if you abandon it. The porridge is ready when it falls from the spoon in a slow ribbon and the raw rice taste is gone. If it becomes too thick, stir in hot water 2 tablespoons at a time.

6. 6

   Season and rest

   Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add 1 tablespoon honey or sugar if you want a lightly sweet bowl, but no more in the pot. Sweetness should sit behind the sesame, not cover it. Taste after the salt dissolves. If it still tastes flat, add another small pinch of salt at the table, not a spoonful of sugar. Let the porridge rest off the heat for 5 minutes so it settles into a glossy cream.

7. 7

   Serve warm

   Ladle into small bowls and garnish with toasted pine nuts and crushed toasted black sesame if using. Serve with a bronze spoon and something clean beside it, such as dongchimi (radish water kimchi) or baek-kimchi (white kimchi). This is quiet food. Let it stay quiet.

Chef Tips

• •Buy black sesame from a shop with quick turnover and smell it before you cook. Fresh seeds smell nutty when crushed; old seeds smell like stale oil or cardboard, and no amount of honey will fix that.
• •Use short-grain white rice for the smoothest body. Brown rice can be used only if you soak it overnight and accept a rougher texture. For this dish, roughness is not character; it is usually poor grinding.
• •A blender is the safe modern shortcut. A food processor is not enough for this porridge, because it chops instead of grinding and leaves the rice gritty.
• •If you have unsweetened toasted black sesame powder, use 1/2 cup (60g) in place of the whole seeds and skip the rinsing and long toasting. Warm the powder in a dry pan for 1 minute, then blend it with the soaked rice. Do not use sweet dessert paste unless you mean to make a candy bowl.
• •Keep the sweetness restrained. One tablespoon honey or sugar for the whole pot is enough for breakfast. Put extra honey at the table for the person who needs it.

Advance Preparation

• •The rice can soak overnight in the refrigerator. Drain it before blending, and do not keep soaked rice more than 24 hours or it begins to sour.
• •The sesame can be rinsed, dried, and toasted 1 day ahead. Cool completely and store airtight at room temperature, away from light.
• •Cooked heugimja-juk keeps 3 days in the refrigerator. It thickens as it chills, so reheat gently with 2 to 4 tablespoons water per serving, stirring low until smooth. Do not leave rice porridge sitting warm for hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 355g)