Chef Jeong-sun
Amjuk (Dried-Grain Weaning Porridge)
Powdered rice or dried baekseolgi cooked thin in cloudy rice water, an old Korean first-spoon porridge that asks for patience at the sieve and gentleness at the stove.
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Kong-juk (Soybean Porridge)
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A pale soybean and rice porridge from the country table, cooled or served warm, where the work is in peeling the beans and keeping the pot gentle.
Breakfast & Brunch
Korean
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
35 min
Active Time
1 hr cook•9 hr 35 min total
Yield4 servings
Kong-juk lives or dies before the pot ever comes to a boil. The soybeans must be soaked until they swell, boiled until their raw edge is gone, then peeled and ground smooth. Skip that work and the porridge tastes flat and coarse. Do it properly and the bean itself becomes the seasoning.
My teacher made us rub the skins off in water, handful by handful, without complaint. I complained in my face, which she saw. Of course she saw. She said, "눈동냥, 귀동냥," borrowing with the eyes and ears, and made me watch how the skins floated up while the beans sank. That is the small trick that saves half the labor.
This is not a porridge that asks for much money. It asks for time, a blender, a steady spoon, and restraint. Salt it lightly at the end so the soybean stays clear and nutty. Some families take a little sugar at the table, especially for children, but don't sweeten the whole pot. Let each bowl choose.
Write it down. Memory is a borrowed bowl. One cup of dried soybeans, half a cup of rice, and enough water to keep it loose, that measure will feed a small table and leave nobody guessing next summer.
Kong-juk belongs to Korea's older grain-and-bean porridge tradition, especially in rural households where soybeans provided protein when meat was scarce. It is closely related to summer soybean dishes such as kong-guksu, which use soaked, boiled, ground soybeans for a cooling, pale broth. Regional tables differ on the finish: some season only with salt, while others offer sugar at the table, a household habit rather than a separate dish.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried yellow soybeans (baektae)
Quantity
1 cup (about 200g)
short-grain white rice
Quantity
1/2 cup (about 100g)
water
Quantity
9 cups, divided
plus more for soaking
kosher salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, divided
or to taste at the table
toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
pine nuts (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
sugar (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried yellow soybeans (baektae) | 1 cup (about 200g) |
| short-grain white rice | 1/2 cup (about 100g) |
| waterplus more for soaking | 9 cups, divided |
| kosher saltor to taste at the table | 1 teaspoon, divided |
| toasted sesame seeds (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| pine nuts (optional) | 2 tablespoons |
| sugar (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Large bowl for soaking beans
- •Heavy 3-quart pot
- •Blender
- •Medium-fine sieve, optional
- •Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
Instructions
- 1
Soak the beans
Rinse the soybeans and cover them with at least 3 inches of cool water. Soak 8 to 12 hours, until the beans are swollen and split cleanly when pinched. This soaking is not decoration; dry soybean centers never grind smooth, and the porridge will stay gritty.
- 2
Soak the rice
Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear, then soak it in cool water for 30 minutes. Drain well. Soaked rice breaks down evenly in the soybean milk and thickens the juk without needing flour.
- 3
Boil the soybeans
Drain the soaked soybeans and put them in a pot with 5 cups fresh water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer for 18 to 22 minutes, until the beans taste cooked but still hold their shape. Do not undercook them. Raw soybean flavor follows you all the way to the finished bowl.
- 4
Peel the beans
Drain the beans, saving 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Cover the beans with cool water and rub them between your palms until the skins loosen. Pour off the floating skins, refill with water, and repeat until most skins are gone. You do not need temple-school perfection, but remove at least three quarters of them. The skins make the porridge rough and slightly bitter.
Rub underwater, not in the air. The skins float and the beans sink, so the bowl does the sorting for you. - 5
Grind the beans
Blend the peeled soybeans with the reserved cooking liquid and 2 cups fresh water until very smooth, 1 to 2 minutes in a strong blender. For a finer porridge, strain through a medium-fine sieve and press with a spoon. For a country-style bowl, leave it unstrained. Both are honest, but they are not the same texture.
- 6
Start the porridge
Put the drained rice and 2 cups fresh water in a heavy pot. Bring to a gentle boil and cook 12 minutes, stirring often, until the rice grains swell and begin to soften. Starting the rice in water first keeps it from sticking when the soybean milk goes in.
- 7
Add soybean milk
Pour in the ground soybean mixture and 1 more cup water. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring across the bottom every few minutes. Soybean milk catches easily. If you let it scorch, the whole pot remembers.
- 8
Season and loosen
When the rice is tender and the porridge is thick but still pourable, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Taste, then add up to another 1/2 teaspoon only if it needs it. The salt should wake the soybean, not announce itself. If the juk tightens too much, loosen it with 1/4 cup water at a time.
- 9
Serve the bowls
Ladle into bowls and finish with a few pine nuts or a small pinch of toasted sesame if you like. Serve warm, room temperature, or lightly chilled. Put salt and sugar on the table separately, because Korean homes argue about this quietly and everyone thinks their own bowl is correct.
Chef Tips
- •Use dried yellow soybeans, not canned soybeans. Canned beans are soft in the wrong way and carry a tinny taste that does not belong in a dish this plain.
- •A high-speed blender makes the smoothest juk, but a regular blender works if you blend longer and strain. The safe corner to cut is the straining. The corner you cannot cut is cooking the beans fully before grinding.
- •Do not season early. Salt tightens the impression of the soybean and makes you add more than you need. Season at the end, then write down your final amount.
- •For a summer table, chill the finished porridge and loosen it with a few spoonfuls of cold water before serving. For breakfast in colder weather, serve it warm and a little thicker.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the soybeans overnight and the rice 30 minutes before cooking. If needed, soaked drained soybeans can be refrigerated for 1 day before boiling.
- •The finished juk keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat gently with water added 2 tablespoons at a time, stirring often, because rice porridge thickens as it sits.
- •For a cold summer serving, cook the porridge in the morning, cool it quickly in a shallow container, refrigerate, and serve the same day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 530g)
Calories
300 calories
Total Fat
13 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
10 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
575 mg
Total Carbohydrates
33 g
Dietary Fiber
9 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
20 g
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