Jeongbukjuk: Abalone Porridge

Porridge is a delightful food to eat. I always consider it as a “home” or “family” food. In Jeju Island, they have what you call Jeongbukjuk as a specialty.

Jeongbukjuk is rice porridge cooked with minced jeonbok or abalone, thus Jeongbukjuk is abalone porridge. It is not only known as one of the specialty food of Jeju Island but is also known for its nutritional value and digestive aid especially for the sick and the elderly.

You might want to try cooking jeonbokjuk, here’s the details.

Servings:  2 - 3

Ingredients:

2 small size ablones

1 cup of rice

7 cups of water

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp fish sauce

3 cloves of garlic

a stalk of onion leeks or 2 green onions

¼ cup of chopped carrot,

sheet of roasted laver (edible seaweed)

Directions:

1. Wash 1 cup of rice and soak it in cold water for 2 hours then drain.

2. Clean abalones by using a brush in cold running water. Chop it up and put it aside.

3. Chop some carrot, stalk of onion leeks or 2 green onions, and set it aside.

4. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and set it aside.

5. Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add 2 Tbsp sesame oil.

6. Add the minced garlic, abalone, and chopped carrot to the pot. Stir it for 30 seconds.

7. Add the soaked rice to the pot. Keep stirring for a few minutes until the grains of rice look half translucent.

8. Pour 7 cups of water into the pot and lower the heat to low heat. Close the lid and cook it for about 30 minutes. You might want to open the lid and stir the porridge every now and then to avoid the burning the rice on the bottom of the pot.

9. Open the lid of the pot and add 1 Tbsp fish sauce and 1 tsp salt. The amount varies depending on your taste.

10. Roast a sheet of laver and put it in a plastic bag then crush it by rubbing the plastic bag.

11. To serve, ladle the porridge into a bowl and sprinkle the crushed roasted laver and chopped green onion over top.