Mieum (Strained Rice Gruel)

Mieum lives or dies by patience. It is not rice soup, and it is not juk (porridge) with too much water. The rice must soften until the water turns milky and the grain gives up its body, then you strain it so only the smoothest part remains.

My teacher Master Seong-nyeo made this for people who could not manage a proper bowl of rice: a feverish child, an elder after a hard illness, a new stomach learning food again. She measured even this. One part rice to twelve parts water for a spoonable mieum, one to fourteen for something close to drinkable. Too thick and it asks too much of the body. Too thin and it carries no strength.

Do not season the pot. Salt belongs in the bowl, and only if the person eating can take it. For a baby, leave it plain. For an adult, start with 1/16 teaspoon fine sea salt per half cup, then stop. Let it taste like itself. Write it down. Memory is a borrowed bowl.