Hobak-juk (Korean Pumpkin Porridge)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-quart pot
• •Potato masher or immersion blender
• •Medium mixing bowl
• •Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the squash

   Wash the squash, split it carefully, scrape out the seeds, and cut away the skin. Cut the flesh into 2-inch pieces so it cooks evenly. If the skin fights you, microwave the whole squash for 3 minutes or roast it cut-side down at 200 C for 20 minutes, just until the skin softens. That is a safe corner to cut. Leaving hard skin in the porridge is not.

2. 2

   Cook until soft

   Put the squash in a heavy pot with 4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer and cook 20 to 25 minutes, until a spoon presses through the squash without resistance. The salt goes in now because it wakes up the pumpkin's sweetness before sugar gets anywhere near it.

3. 3

   Make the saealsim

   While the squash cooks, put 1/2 cup glutinous rice flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Stir in 5 tablespoons boiling water with chopsticks, then knead by hand when it is cool enough to touch. Add 1 more tablespoon water only if dry crumbs remain. Roll into balls the size of small marbles, about 1 teaspoon each. Bigger ones look generous and cook badly.

   Cover the shaped saealsim with a damp towel. Rice dough dries at the surface, and dry dumplings crack before they cook.
4. 4

   Mash the pumpkin

   When the squash is soft, mash it directly in the pot with a potato masher for a homely texture, or blend it smooth if the table wants it softer. Keep the cooking liquid. That water now holds pumpkin flavor, and throwing it out is throwing out the dish.

5. 5

   Thicken the juk

   Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup glutinous rice flour with 1 cup cold water until no lumps remain. Stir this slurry into the pumpkin over medium-low heat. Keep the spoon moving across the bottom for 8 to 10 minutes, until the porridge turns glossy and thick enough to fall slowly from the spoon. Dry flour dropped straight into the pot makes lumps. Slurry gives you a clean body.

6. 6

   Cook the dumplings

   Slide in the saealsim and stir gently so they do not stick to the bottom. Simmer 6 to 8 minutes, until the dumplings float and no raw flour taste remains when you bite one. If using cooked adzuki beans, stir them in during the last 2 minutes so they warm without turning the porridge muddy.

7. 7

   Sweeten and serve

   Taste the porridge before adding sugar. Stir in 1 tablespoon sugar or honey first, then add more only if the squash needs help, up to 3 tablespoons total. The finished hobak-juk should be gently sweet, lightly salty, and plainly pumpkin. Ladle into bowls and finish with pine nuts and jujube slivers if using.

Chef Tips

• •Danhobak gives the richest color and sweetness. If you use a watery carving pumpkin, you will need to simmer the puree longer before thickening, and the flavor will still be thinner. My teacher would have cooked something else from that market day.
• •Do not sweeten early. Pumpkin changes as it cooks, and salt brings out sweetness before sugar does. Taste after mashing, then decide.
• •Stir slowly but constantly once the rice flour goes in. Juk scorches from the bottom while the top looks innocent. A heavy pot gives you a little mercy.
• •For a smoother breakfast bowl, leave out the saealsim and use the same porridge base. For a more filling meal, keep the dumplings and add the optional adzuki beans.

Advance Preparation

• •The squash can be peeled, seeded, and cut 1 day ahead. Keep it covered in the refrigerator so the cut edges do not dry out.
• •The pumpkin base can be cooked and mashed up to 2 days ahead. Reheat it gently, then add the rice flour slurry and saealsim fresh so the texture stays clean.
• •Leftover hobak-juk keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat over low heat with a splash of water, stirring often, because the rice flour thickens as it sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)