Pumpkin porridge is a popular dish in Korea around this time of the year. It is popular with all ages for a snack or with a meal. For this recipe, I used an easier way to make the beans. I used a can of beans instead of cooking dried beans. It saved a lot of time and tastes the same. π The sweetness from pumpkin porridge with beans and chewy rice balls tastes great. This would be a great dish for a Halloween party.
Yield: 1Β½ Quarts
Short Korean Lesson
- HoBak (νΈλ°) = Pumpkin
- Juk (μ£½) = Porridge
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 2-3 lb Pumpkin (3 Cups Water)
- 3 Tbsp Sweet Rice Flour (ΒΌ Cup Water)
- Β½ Cup Sugar
- Β½ tsp Salt
Rice Ball Ingredients
- β Cup Sweet Rice Flour
- 4-5 Tbsp Water
Bean Ingredients
- 1 Can Black Beans (15 oz)
- Β½ Cup Water
- β Cup Brown Sugar
Directions
Prepare 1 small pumpkin (about 2-3 lb) for cooking. I used a pumpkin that was being marketed as a pumpkin pie pumpkin. You can use a different kind of pumpkin if you like.
Cut the pumpkin in half. In Korea, we normally peel off the pumpkin skin, cut it into big chunks, and boil the chunks in water. However, this pumpkin’s skin was too hard to peel, so I just cut it in half and I will bake it in an oven.
Remove the seeds and strings from inside the pumpkin.
Cover the pumpkin with foil, and bake for 1 hour at 350 F.
Meanwhile, prepare the bean topping. Drain the liquid from a can of black beans. You can use any kinds of beans, but red or black beans are the best.
Add Β½ cup of water and β cup of brown sugar in a pan. Stir it until the sugar dissolves on medium-high.
Add the beans and cook for 7 minutes on high.
Occasionally stir them so they will not stick to the bottom or burn. After 7 minutes, most of the liquid will be gone.
To make the sticky rice balls, combine β cup of sweet rice flour and 4-5 Tbsp of warm water. Knead the dough for several minutes.
Make small balls with the dough.
When the pumpkin is done baking, let it cool.
Scoop the pumpkin out with a spoon. Throw away the skin. You need about 3 cups of pumpkin.
Place the cooked pumpkin and 3 cups of water in a mixer or blender.
Blend it for about 3 minutes on the highest speed or until the pumpkin has a smooth texture.
Combine ΒΌ cup of water and 3 Tbsp of sweet rice flour. This will help thicken the pumpkin mixture.
Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pan and cook on medium high.
Pour the sweet rice flour mixture into the pan. Immediately after that, quickly stir it or the rice flour will make lumps.
Add Β½ cup of sugar and Β½ tsp of salt. Each person can add sugar before eating, so you don’t have to worry about the sweetness in this step.
Once it starts to boil, add the rice balls and cook for 5 more minutes on high. Keep stirring it so that the rice balls will not stick to the bottom.
If the rice balls are soft and chewy, they are done.
To serve, place a spoonful of black beans on the bottom of a serving bowl.
Pour some of the porridge on top of the black beans.
As I mentioned before, serve this porridge with sugar so that each person can adjust the sweetness. It tastes great with kimchi. π Enjoy!
Hi Aeri! I hail from Malaysia!
π This juk looks very nice! π It reminds me of the Chinese Glutinous Rice soup that we eat during Dong Zhi, our winter solstice festival. π
Thank you for your wonderful recipes! ^_^
[Joh-Eun]
hi Joh-Eun,
Nice to meet you. Oh.. really ?? try Korean pumpkin porridge someday too.. thanks
Hi Aeri, this is perfect for Halloween! Thanks for showing us how to make rice balls too.
hi Katharine in Brussels,
You are more than welcome. ^^ thanks
ahh, looks great!
Heh, from the looks of things, some one in your family’s gonna be happy! =)
hi Sjha,
Yep, my hubby was happy to try it. π thanks
Hi Aeri, about how many cups of pumpkin is 2-3lbs?
Thanks!
oops nevermind i missed reading that it is 3 cups… hehe
hi Elizabeth,
Hehe.. I mentioned both the size of the pumpkin when you buy.. and the amount of pumpkin after you scoop it out. ^^
It tasted good π thank you for the interesting recipe!
Oh btw is it the rice flour the same we can use to make λ‘? Glutinous rice flour and sweet rice flour is the same thing, right?
Oh. I found your article about the rice flour, it is the same ^^
hi νλΉ,
hehe.. you are right.. ^^
I’m eating this now–it’s delicious. Thank you!
I used a kitchen towel to cover my hand while stirring the porridge, it is so thick it ‘plops’ while boiling.
hi Katharine in Brussels,
Oops, I should mention that too.. yep.. mine was like that too.. it looked like a food from the boiling cooking pot…a witch is stirring.. hehe..
hi Aeri.
about the black bean, i checked all the can ones. they all have sodium. Is that ok for this soup because since the soup is sweet??
thanks
hi tiffany,
Yes it is okay.. they don’t have that strong salt taste in it.. you can see the pumpkin porridge has some salt in it..
is it okay to bake it without foil? how many serving is this? thanks π im a college student, so im planning to make this for my friends on campus :):)
hi tiffany,
without foil.. the surface of the pumpkin will be dried… or burn.. so if you can.. i recommend you use the foil.. it will be depending on. how much each person eats..but.. I will say about 4-6 servings.. ^^
Hi Aeri. I was wondering if you knew how to make homemade pepero since pepero day (11/11) is coming up soon. Thanks. :]
hi :]
oh.. that’s a cute idea.. but sorry.. to post a video or recipe.. I need to plan it ahead..because it takes time to prepare and edit the pictures and videos.. maybe i will add it to my list..and do it next year.. sorry and thanks π
Hi Aeri,
I was wondering if you could substitute the fresh roasted pumpkin for canned pumpkin puree….
hi Mei,
I didn’t try with canned pumpkin.. so can’t tell with confidence..but I’ve tried and tasted pumpkin can for some American dessert before..and when I imagine the flavor for this porridge.. I will not want to use it..so I don’t recommend you..but it’s up to you. ^^
Hi,
I wasn’t sure where to make a request but could you please make one for μΌκ°νκΉλ°₯ please??
Thank you π
hi zeeet,
I will add it to my list.. thanks π
Hello, Aeri! I’m Robert from NYC. I’ve been following your YouTube channel for a while now and finally decided not to just watch cooking videos but to try the recipes for myself.
I made your hobak juk for Thanksgiving dinner. It came out awesome! I posted a picture on my Flickr where my screen name is the same.
P.S. I also like your choice of music for some of your videos. So much that I went and got them. Thanks for turning me on to K-pop artists like Chae Yeon and Son Dam Bi.
hi interestsarefree,
Nice to meet you.
I looked at your pictures.. thanks for sharing it with me. The pumpkin porridge you made looked really good. π Please try more recipes and share the pictures with us. π
have a great weekend.
Hi Aeri! I love your website and find myself checking it frequently. I was wondering I can’t find any fresh pumpkin’s right now and I read that you wouldn’t recommend the can type so could i substitue this with butternut squash? The taste is similar. I put it in my pumpkin pie when I don’t have enough pumpkin puree to make a whole pie π Thanks for all the uploads and hope you and your family have a merry christmas!
hi Cynthia,
Thanks for being my frequent visitor..hehe
aha.. betternut squash.. yes you can use it… I don’t know if you know maangchi..who is an another korean cooking blogger..she is a great cook. anyway..I remember she used butternut squash for her pumpkin porridge before. I’m not familiar with some of American ingredients..but she used it.. so it must be good to use.. and you said the taste is similar.. ^^ enjoy your porridge..and please let me know how you liked it ..Merry Christmas. π
thx aeri,
just moved to the states last month and i miss korean food alot ^^
will follow your recipes this weekend ^^
God bless. ^^
hi kk,
Oh.. so you moved to the states from Korea ???
Yes.. try my recipes..and let me know how you like..
God bless you too..
I wonder if this recipe would work with a squash? I have a couple of squash I need to use up before they go bad. Hmmm…what do you think?
hi monica,
hm.. my answer is.. depend on what kind of squash you have… you use that squash for dessert ?? what do you use it for ??
I know… butternut squash works for this dish.. you have that kind ?? ^^
I didn’t have butternut squash…it is a “sweet dumpling squash”…my 1st time to use it…so i’m not sure…actually, i am making it right now…^^uh, the pumkins are cooling…so, after i make it i’ll let you know if it tasted ok…and, if i don’t have rice flour is substituting white flour okay? cheers~ π
hi monica,
Your squash worked for this recipe ?? sorry for late reply.. white flour will have different texture and flavor..but you can use it if you don’t have right one..
Ah, Aeri. I cooked the squash but ran out of time to make the soup. So, I have to try again this year.^^ I bougt a kind of rice flour to use and hopefully that’ll work! My reply is soooo late. Please forgive me!!
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hi νλΉ,
μλ νμΈμ. ^^
Yes, you can boil the pumpkin. It will be same way with boiling potato.. boil it on high.. I guess it will take at least 20 to 30 minutes.. so after 20 minutes.. poke the pumpkin with knife or fork.. and see.. if it goes through easily.. if it is.. it’s done. thanks
i wanted to try this last year and never got the chance, but just made it today and it was delicious thank you π
Hi Aeri!
I followed your recipe the other day (except with a bit less beans and sugar)… and it was DELICIOUS! So yummy, colourful, and healthy! My family really enjoyed it too (but not as much as me :P)!
Thanks for the great recipe π
Hi Aeri!
I know it’s crazy to be looking at a soup recipe in 100 degree weather, but I love looking at recipes and this one caught my eye. It looks delicious! Can you tell me approximately how long the rice balls need to boil before they become soft and chewy? I’ve never tried them before, but I will soon.
Thanks for taking the time to share all your wonderful recipes with us!
God bless you!
Kelli
hi Kelli,
In my recipe it said.. “Once it starts to boil, add the rice balls and cook for 5 more minutes on high. ” I don’t know how powerful your stove top temperature is on high..but after the mixture starts to boil again at least cook for 5 minutes on high..and check
I tried making this and it turned out well except… my rice balls became bits of rice goo. π What is most likely the cause?
hi Katy,
sorry what that means.. rice goo ???
They didn’t hold together, they sort of just joined the rice that was used to thicken the porridge, so it was extra thick and there were no rice balls. Some of them did what they were supposed to, but most didn’t.
μλ νμΈμ μΈλ, today I tried this recipe and I replaced the pumpkin with mango pulp..because I don’t like pumpkins…and I add red color on rice balls….the porridge looked so colorful….And, it tasted so delicious… π ….λ§μλ…!!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe….κ°μ¬ν©λλ€… π !!!
Hey Aeri
Ummmm….. i just wanted to ask…. can the juk be made without the rice balls and just made with rice??
hi Monique,
I prefer mine with rice balls..but yes.. some people use rice too. π