Juk (Korean food)

Juk is a Korean porridge prepared by simmering rice or other grains and legumes—like beans, sesame, nuts, or pumpkin—in water. It is typically served warm and is most commonly eaten for breakfast, though it can be enjoyed at any meal. Depending on its ingredients and thickness, juk can serve as a restorative food, a delicacy, or a simple famine dish. Its soft texture makes it easy to digest, and it is valued for its nutritional benefits.

For these reasons, it is a standard “get well” meal for those who are ill or recovering, and it is also considered ideal for babies, the sick, and the elderly. In South Korea, many chain stores sell juk commercially, and it is a popular takeout option. The simplest version, made from plain rice and water, is called huinjuk (white porridge) or ssaljuk (rice porridge). Since it is largely unflavored, it is usually accompanied by stronger-tasting side dishes like jeotgal (salted seafood) and various kinds of kimchi.

Daechu-gom

Historical records mention more than forty varieties of juk. Notable examples include jatjuk (finely ground pine nut porridge), jeonbok-juk (abalone porridge), yulmu-juk (made from Job’s tears), and patjuk (red bean porridge). Daechu-gom features jujubes and is made with glutinous rice flour, walnuts, and pine nuts, served warm.

The jujubes are washed, dried, boiled, strained, and sieved to remove seeds. The sieved jujube is then boiled again, with a glutinous rice flour slurry added gradually. It is seasoned with salt and garnished with chopped walnuts and whole pine nuts. Dakjuk is a chicken porridge.

Dakjuk

Its main ingredients are rice, chicken, garlic, and green onions. Unlike many spicy Korean dishes, dakjuk is mild, making it easy to digest. It is commonly eaten by medical patients and children in Korea, and has grown in popularity for its high nutritional value, available at many juk-specialty restaurants. Euneo-juk, or sweetfish porridge, is made with sweetfish and rice.

Euneo-juk

The soup is prepared by boiling sweetfish to make stock, deboning the fish, and boiling soaked rice in the stock. In South Jeolla Province, glutinous rice, fresh ginseng, chestnuts, and jujubes are used, seasoned with minced garlic, grated ginger, salt, and sesame oil. In North Gyeongsang Province, the stock is first seasoned with doenjang and gochujang, then aromatics, sujebi (torn wheat flour dough), and vegetables like chili peppers, perilla leaves, waterdropwort, and crown daisy greens are added.

Heugimja-juk

In South Gyeongsang Province, the boned sweetfish is stir-fried in sesame oil, then finely diced onions and carrots are added to the rice and stock, seasoned with salt. Heugimja-juk, or black sesame porridge, is made from finely ground black sesame and rice. This bittersweet, nutty porridge is considered good for recovering patients because black sesame seeds are rich in digestive enzymes that support healthy liver and kidney function. Preparation involves washing, soaking, and draining the sesame and rice separately, toasting the sesame over low heat, then grinding them together with water in a millstone or blender.

The mixture is sifted and simmered. Hobak-juk, or pumpkin porridge, is made with pumpkin and glutinous rice flour. Traditionally, recovering patients or the elderly receive this smooth, naturally sweet porridge. Korean cheese pumpkins or kabocha squash are washed, sliced, boiled, peeled, deseeded, and mashed.

The mash can be strained for a smoother texture, then mixed with a glutinous rice flour slurry and boiled. Parboiled red or black beans may be added, along with saealsim (small rice cake balls made from glutinous rice flour and hot water). Salt and optional sugar are added to taste. Jangguk-juk is made by boiling rice in malgeun-jangguk, a soup soy sauce-based beef broth made with seasoned ground beef stir-fried in sesame oil.

Historically, it was called uyuk-juk (beef porridge) in the 1766 book Jeungbo sallim gyeongje. To make it, ground beef is seasoned with scallions, garlic, soup soy sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper, then stir-fried. Water is added, and foam or excess oil is skimmed. Once the broth is flavored, soaked rice is added and boiled to the desired consistency.

Lean meat like beef round is preferred, and the porridge is mildly seasoned, making it good for recovering patients and the elderly. Jatjuk, or pine nut porridge, is made by boiling finely ground pine nuts and rice flour or soaked rice in water. It is mild, nutritious, and easily digestible, often served to recovering patients and the elderly.

White rice and pine nuts are separately soaked, ground, and sieved. The ground rice is boiled, then ground pine nuts are added gradually while simmering. Grinding the ingredients together causes them to separate after boiling. The porridge is seasoned with salt and often garnished with whole or crushed pine nuts.