Jatjuk (Pine Nut Porridge)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Blender or stone grinder
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Heavy 2-quart saucepan
• •Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the rice

   Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs mostly clear, then soak it in fresh water for 2 hours. Drain well. Soaking softens the grain so it grinds smoothly and cooks into a tender body instead of little hard flecks.

   If you forgot to soak, use hot water and give the rice 40 minutes. That is a safe schedule change. Skipping the soak completely is not.
2. 2

   Clean the pine nuts

   Pick over the pine nuts and remove any dark tips or bitter-looking pieces. Rinse quickly under cold water and drain on a towel. Do not soak them. Pine nuts carry enough oil already, and soaking dulls their clean flavor.

3. 3

   Grind separately

   Put the drained rice in a blender with 2 cups of the measured water and blend until it looks like thin cream with no hard grains visible, 45 to 60 seconds in a strong blender. Pour it into a heavy saucepan. Blend the pine nuts separately with 1 cup of the measured water for 30 to 45 seconds, just until smooth. Keeping them separate lets the rice cook first and keeps the pine nut oil from splitting.

   For the silkiest porridge, pass both mixtures through a fine sieve before cooking. Press gently, then scrape the underside of the sieve into the pot. That paste is good food, not waste.
4. 4

   Cook the rice base

   Add the remaining 2 cups water to the rice mixture and set the saucepan over medium heat. Stir slowly and constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and loses its raw rice smell, about 10 to 12 minutes. Scrape the bottom and corners of the pot. Rice starch catches there first.

5. 5

   Add pine nut

   Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in the blended pine nuts. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring gently, until the porridge is glossy, smooth, and thick enough to coat the spoon but still pour slowly. Do not let it boil hard. A lazy bubble at the edge is enough, because strong heat forces the pine nut oil out.

6. 6

   Season lightly

   Stir in 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, then taste. It should taste round and nutty, not salty. Add more salt only a pinch at a time if the pine nuts taste flat. Serve sugar or honey on the side if the table wants sweetness, but do not sweeten the whole pot for everyone.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Ladle into small warm bowls. Garnish each bowl with a few pine nuts and two or three jujube slivers if you are using them. Serve immediately, while the porridge is smooth. If it thickens as it sits, loosen it with 1 or 2 tablespoons hot water and stir gently before serving.

Chef Tips

• •Buy raw, pale pine nuts from a shop with fast turnover and smell them before using. If they smell like old oil, do not cook jatjuk with them. This dish has nowhere to hide rancid nuts.
• •A blender is acceptable here. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요, when times change, food must change too. The old stone mill gives beautiful texture, but a blender and sieve will feed a modern home honestly.
• •Keep the salt low. Pine nuts turn sweet and milky when cooked gently, and too much salt makes the porridge taste harsh. Half a teaspoon for this batch is the mark; adjust from there by pinches.
• •Do not toast the pine nuts for this porridge. Toasted pine nuts are good in other dishes, but jatjuk should be ivory and soft in flavor, not brown and roasted.
• •Serve in small bowls. A generous-looking large bowl becomes heavy quickly, and this porridge is meant to comfort, not tire the appetite.

Advance Preparation

• •The rice can be rinsed and soaked overnight in the refrigerator. Drain it well before grinding, and count the soaking water separately from the 5 cups used in the recipe.
• •The pine nuts can be picked over a day ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Keep them cold because their oil turns stale quickly.
• •Jatjuk is best eaten fresh. Leftovers can be refrigerated for 1 day, then reheated over low heat with a splash of water, but the texture will not be as fine as the first bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 285g)