A thick, earthy Korean porridge of slow-cooked red beans mashed and simmered with rice, traditionally studded with chewy saeal-sim glutinous rice balls. Eaten lightly salted as a savory meal or sweetened as a comforting bowl on the winter solstice.
An ancient juk tied to the dongji winter solstice, when eating it was believed to ward off bad luck and disease; documented throughout Korea.
Velvety and warming, the porridge tastes deeply of nutty, slightly sweet red beans with a faintly chalky richness. The little rice balls bounce and stretch against the smooth base, and a pinch of salt or sugar pulls the whole bowl into comfort.
Discarding the first boil removes bitter saponins from the bean skins, and straining the puree yields a smooth body. Long simmering bursts the bean and rice starches so they thicken the porridge naturally without flour.
Variations
Dan-patjuk (sweet dessert version), patjuk with added pumpkin, versions with chestnuts, savory salted patjuk without rice balls.
On the Palate
Where Patjuk sits in the Korean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 110 min
Rinse red beans, cover with water and boil briefly, then discard the first water.
Watch outBoil briefly and throw out that first dark water — it carries the bitterness from the bean skins.
- 260 min
Add fresh water and simmer the beans until completely soft, about an hour.
- 312 min
Roll glutinous rice flour with a little water into small saeal-sim balls.
- 48 min
Mash or blend the cooked beans, then strain to remove the tougher skins.
Watch outStrain the mashed beans to catch the tough skins — that's what gives the finished porridge its silky body.
- 53 min
Return the bean puree to the pot with soaked rice and more water.
- 630 min
Simmer, stirring often, until the rice is tender and the porridge thickens.
- 76 min
Drop in the rice balls and cook until they float to the surface.
Watch outThe rice balls are cooked the moment they bob to the surface — fish them out then so they stay springy.
- 82 min
Season with salt for savory or sugar for sweet, and serve hot.
