Korean Dak Juk (Chicken Porridge)
By: olivia kim
Published: Saturday, July 7, 2012 - 7:01pm

Ingredients




•4, 5 pieces (1 lb) boneless chicken breasts
•5, 6 garlic cloves, minced
•1/2 zucchini, cut into small cubes
•1 carrot, cut into small cubes
•8, 9 cups of water
•3 cups jjapsahl (Korean sweet rice)
•1 tbsp salt
•soy sauce to taste
•sliced scallions (garnish)
•sesame oil (for taste and garnish)

Preparation

1 1.  Be sure to soak sweet rice in a large bowl of water (partially submerged) at least an hour before usage. There should be directions to usage so check the package if available. 2 2.  Fill a large pot with about 8 cups of water, boil and then add whole chicken breasts, garlic cloves, and about 1 tbsp of salt. Boil on medium-high setting for about 20 minutes. 3 3.  Remove chicken pieces from the heat and rinse under running cold water to cool. The chicken pieces can be torn into strips by hands or cut into thinly diced pieces according to preference. 4 4. As for the chicken broth, strain through a sieve and/or remove the garlic cloves with a spoon (saving is optional). Reserve chicken broth and pour about 3-4 cups of broth back into the pot. 5 5. Drain the water from the sweet rice and combine with shredded chicken and diced vegetables into the pot. Cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent rice from sticking on the bottom. Keep the lid partially covered until a thick consistency is achieved. Add more chicken broth or water if necessary. 6 6. Plate into soup bowls while topping with a dash of sesame oil, soy sauce and green onion slices according to taste. Enjoy!

About

Though I have tried to avoid getting too personal on the blog, I must admit that this recipe has a bitter-sweet story behind it [sigh]. We are still experiencing record-breaking heat here in the Midwest (100+ weather!), and this is supposed to be the last day of the heat wave according recent weather experts. For some reason, the missus decides that dak juk (chicken porridge) would be an "ideal" dish in this weather, despite the long, slow, tedious (and hot) process of making porridge. We bickered and quarreled and argued and even raised our voices (a little...because of heat) for some time over this issue until I literally passed out from the heat, making it an easy and done argument (from the wife's perspective). And waking up a few hours later, I woke up not only to a comforting and nostalgic meal, but something that made me regret (in hindsight) for raising my voice (a little) at the missus who was in charge of cooking tonight. So, this special post belongs to the real "man of the house" and I officially apologize (in writing) for any harsh words or criticism that may have slipped (bcuz of the heat). ^^ And I apologize to our followers without step-by-step pictures for the recipe, except for the final product itself. The weather is supposed to cool and I hope that all things should turn to normalcy in the near future.