Jeonbokjuk - Abalone Porridge

After being married for a while, you kind of develop a sixth sense when talking to your spouse. When you take a step back, and take time to think about it, sometimes it just doesn't make sense. I can understand deciphering that when the Missus said "Leo-hay-mans" She means Loehmann's, and of course there are times when I (thankfully) have no clue.  But often, things just kinda click. Like when the Missus told me, out of the blue, "I want the porridge........." I don't know how I knew She was referring to Jeonbokjuk, but I just knew. It must have been fate, live abalone was on sale at Zion Market for $4.99 each.

   

I once asked someone how to make this, and was given the basic outline of a recipe. I also checked online, and one of my cookbooks. The recipe you see below is a mish-mash of what I gleaned. Like many recipes, there are more than few variations on the recipe. I'll list some of them in case your thinking about making this. Some recipes include chopped carrots, in the basic recipe I was given, I was told to blend the soaked rice with 5 cups of water for 10 seconds to "break the rice". One variation of Jeonbokjuk is green in color and includes the abalone innards. What's with the fish sauce, etc? I was kinda wondering the same thing when I saw the inclusion of fish sauce in a few of the recipes online. But after tasting the porridge, I knew. Farm raised Abalone, like the type I purchased is pretty mild in flavor, and need just a bit of "help". The meat has good flavor, but it just didn't impart enough of it to the porridge. Instead of fish sauce, I added a teaspoon of Dashi-no-moto to the porridge at the end. I know this is akin to adding MSG to a dish, but it really added a nice umami to the dish. If I had White Tamari, I would have tried that instead. I also used a good quality Sesame Oil, and would suggest putting that ubiquitous bottle of Kagoya away for this. Remember to scrub the abalone well, to remove all the black pigment and slimy "stuff".

 

Jeonbokjuk

1 - 1 1/2 Cup Fresh Abalone(approx 2) washed, cleaned, and diced
2 Cups Short Grain Rice
7 Cups water
2-3 Tb Sesame Oil
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
3 cloves garlic minced

Fish Sauce, White Tamari, or Hondashi (optional)

Nori cut into thin strips
Scallions, green part only sliced

- Place rice in a bowl and cover with 3-4 cups water, and soak for 30 minutes.
- Drain rice in a colander
- In a pot or wok, heat sesame oil over medium-low heat. Saute garlic and abalone for about a minute.
- Add drained rice and mix with abalone for a minute or two.
- Add water, and turn heat to high, stirring occasionally.
- Bring porridge to a boil, uncovered for about 5 minutes, or until the porridge starts to thicken.
- Turn heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the desired thickness is reached. About 15 to 30 minutes.
- Taste the porridge, and add sea salt, and other flavorings if desired.
- Serve topped with Nori Strips and scallions.

It's a nice luxurious dish.....

Of course one doesn't live on Jeonbokjuk alone, do they?

Comments

[kat]

mmm looks delicious!

[ed (from Yuma)]

Nice to have a jook recipe.
Sounds good - would this basic recipe work for other rice porridges (I have memories of the last time I tried to cook such a thing)?

[meemalee]

What's the last piccie? Kimchi chijae?

Yum :)

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - The Missus enjoyed it!

Hi meemalee - Yes it is....

Hi Ed - Funny thing, Northern Chinese "jook"(very plain) is different from Cantonese "jook"(cornstarch/MSG). Jook in Hawaii(uses turkey/chicken), is different from both of those. Korean "juk" in this case uses sesame oil, one of the recipes I've used to make Dak-juk (chicken porridge), of course uses chicken, but also sweet glutinous rice in addtion to short grain. And ten there's Filipino Arroz Caldo and Japanese Okayu(which I've had served with umeboshi)........ I could do a week of Asian rice porridge and each would be different.

[nhbilly]

Sounds so complicated...

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - Nah...when it comes down to it, this is just Chao!

[nhbilly]

Fancy name for such a simple dish. LOL

[Janfrederick]

Man, I'll have to forward this to my skin diving brother. ;)

I made turkey jook after Thanksgiving one year. It fed us for a couple of weeks!

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - I guess it is.... ;o)

Hi Jan - That's the thing about jook......you can really make small portions. The Missus did finish this all up.

[Carol]

I haven't had rice porridge in years. My mom used to make plain rice porridge for Sunday breakfasts and I would eat it with rousong. Yum!

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - Plain porridge is how it goes for the Missus and Her family. It is a regular breakfast item. The first time the Missus saw me putting turkey bones in Her porridge She almost fainted.

[foodhoe]

Yummy yummy! I haven't ever had abalone porridge but that sounds like an amazing combination. $4.99 each sounds like a pretty good price.

[Kirk]

Hi FH - It was especially good the second day....and the Missus finished every drop.

[mills]

*sigh* I am so hungry now. I miss California so much sometimes, like getting good quality sesame oil. I am just lucky mom sends me big cans of Kadoya, still cheaper than the small bottles that cost 4 dollars on the cheap side. :(

[Kirk]

Hey Mills - It's very nice to hear from you! I hope all is going well.

[mills]

:) Going good! Wish the exchange rate was better. Oh well I guess we're staying in to eat. :P