Nutty Dongji Patjuk (Winter Solstice Red Bean Porridge)

Ingredients

• Place it in a plastic bag and let it rest for approx. 30 minutes.
• Pour in enough water to submerge the red beans and boil for approx. 2 minutes to remove any astringency. Discard the water and rinse once. They say you can skip this step if using freshly harvested red beans.
• If you cannot eat all the finely blended red bean puree at once, divide it into portions and freeze it along with the rice dumplings to make red bean porridge anytime.
• Instead of rice dumplings, you can also slice and add soft garaetteok (cylinder rice cakes).

Steps

1. 

   

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   I prepared 2 cups of red beans and 2 cups of glutinous rice flour.

   Wash the red beans approx. 3 times, rubbing them between your hands.

2. 

   

   

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   Pour in enough water to submerge the red beans and boil for approx. 2 minutes to remove any astringency. Discard the water and rinse once.

   They say you can skip this step if using freshly harvested red beans.

3. 

   

   

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   Now let's simmer the red beans in earnest. For 2 cups of red beans, pour in a generous 4 cups of water. Once it boils vigorously, cover with a lid and simmer gently.

   As it simmers, the water will have reduced.

4. 

   

   

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   Pour in approx. 4 cups of water again and simmer until the red beans can be easily mashed. If the skins do not crush smoothly, you need to add more water and continue simmering.

   Adding water brought to a rolling boil in a kettle or pot will save you time.

   Leave the red beans until they cool down.

5. 

   

   

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   Let's make the rice dumplings. Add salt to the glutinous rice flour and mix evenly while adding the boiling water little by little.

   Kneading with hot water keeps the flour from scattering and helps it bind smoothly. This is called ikbanjuk (hot-water dough).

   If the dough is too wet, the dumplings will dissolve once added to the red bean porridge, so knead it until it feels slightly firm.

6. 

   

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   Gather the dough with your hands and knead until smooth and supple. Place it in a plastic bag and let it rest for approx. 30 minutes.

7. 

   

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   Roll it out long like cylinder rice cakes, cut into bite-sized pieces, and roll them into round shapes.

8. 

   

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   Depending on the size, it yields approx. 50 pieces.

   If you make them like this and let the surface dry slightly, they will not stick to each other. You can also freeze them and use whenever needed.

9. 

   

   

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   Drop the dumplings into rolling boiling water. Once they float to the top, scoop them out, rinse in cold water, and drain.

   Blanching them separately like this keeps them much bouncier and prevents them from falling apart compared to simmering them directly in the porridge.

10. 

    

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    Add approx. 2 to 3 cups of water to 2 cups of boiled red beans and blend smoothly in a blender. I had approx. 5 cups of boiled red beans, so I poured in 10 cups of water and blended them.

    If you cannot eat all the finely blended red bean puree at once, divide it into portions and freeze it along with the rice dumplings to make red bean porridge anytime.

11. 

    

    

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    Pour 1 to 2 times the volume of water into 2 cups of blended red beans, checking the consistency as you go, and simmer while stirring so it does not scorch the bottom.

    Adjust the amount of water to suit your preferred porridge thickness.

    At the end, add the rice dumplings and simmer briefly. Since the dumplings are already blanched, you only need to heat them through.

    If serving immediately, you can adjust the taste with salt and sugar at this point.

    I seasoned mine with salt and sugar in individual bowls when eating.

12. 

    I sweetened it like sweet red bean porridge by adding approx. 2 tbsp of sugar, along with a tiny amount of salt, just two pinches.

    

    

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    Finely chopping and adding nuts like chestnuts, pine nuts, or walnuts, or jujubes adds a pleasant texture and makes the porridge even nuttier.

    Instead of rice dumplings, you can also slice and add soft garaetteok (cylinder rice cakes).

Ppunwife's tips

• All you need to watch out for is replenishing water while simmering the red beans so they do not scorch, and using boiling water for the rice dumpling dough so it binds well.
• Adding water brought to a rolling boil in a kettle or pot will save you time.
• If the dough is too wet, the dumplings will dissolve once added to the red bean porridge, so knead it until it feels slightly firm.
• Blanching them separately like this keeps them much bouncier and prevents them from falling apart compared to simmering them directly in the porridge.

FAQ

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