a recipe for you

Hey, I want to share a little part of my childhood with you.

These days, I've been lacking an appetite. I'm not sure if it's the nippy weather or me approaching my time of the month, but mother nature has got me feeling a certain way. It could also very much be the change of seasons that makes me extremely nostalgic for my grandmother. On days like this, I often turn to one of two very simple Korean dishes, 죽 (juk) or 누룽지 (nurungji). They're both very simple modifications on some leftover rice, but they are warm and welcoming. Whenever I eat either, I feel like I am being embraced in a huge bear hug! Maybe, I'd consider this as a form of Korean soul food.

My mom used to make these for us when we were sick. And, she made a lot of the 죽 for my grandmother when she wasn't feeling well as she grew older. When my grandmother had no appetite, this was all she would eat and hold down. Even if you don't have a memory attached to this dish, I think you might find it to be a helpful ailment to your gloomy day or upset stomach. I made it for myself and my sister yesterday. And we enjoyed it so much. There are so many ways to prepare and enjoy this meal. I'll first show you the very simplest version, and then show you how you can add to it to spice it up!

Plain White Juk

This requires two ingredients for the main dish: water and rice. Simple, right? Usually, I use whatever rice I have in the rice cooker and that makes this dish even simpler. If you don't have any cooked rice laying around then you can still make it work with a fresh batch of rice. But, I gotta say, there's something about recycling old rice into this that makes it even yummier.

photo by me of chicken juk

Ingredients for main dish:

1. water

2. leftover rice

Ingredients for sauce:

1. soy sauce

2. vinegar

3. sesame oil

4. sesame seeds (optional)

5. red pepper flakes (optional)

Here's how to make it.

1. Take a medium sized sauce pan and fill it 2/3 of the way with water.

2. Put it on the stove at medium to high heat.

3. Add leftover rice to it immediately, and mix it so that it breaks apart in the water.

4. Let the water boil and stir the rice so that it does not stick to the bottom of the sauce pan. Add water as needed.

5. The rice will start to make the water very gooey and white. Keep stirring and cooking until it is gelatinous and the rice is very soft.

6. Transfer the amount you want into a bowl, and voila ! you made yourself some 죽.

Here's how to eat it.

1. Combine a small side dish of 2 parts soy sauce, a dash of vinegar, and 1/2 parts sesame oil. Give it a little mix, and add to your 죽 as you eat. You can also add either or both of sesame seeds and dried, Korean red pepper flakes to add some texture.

I love this dish because it is so simple. You don't need much in your kitchen to make this work. But if you're craving even more flavor with it, you can eat the 죽 with any 김치 (kimchi) or 김 (seaweed sheets) you have as well!

Savory Chicken Juk

Like I said, there are so many ways to spice up this dish. If you're not interested in just white rice (which is very flavorless without the sauce), then you can add protein and vegetables. There are two very popular versions: 닭죽 (dak juk) and 전복죽 (jeonbok juk). The 닭죽 is a more savory, chicken porridge. And, the 전복죽 is a soft, abalone porridge. Here are the recipes for the 닭죽. And you eat it the same way that you would eat the plain 죽.

Ingredients for main dish:

1. water

2. leftover rice

3. leftover chicken

4. carrots

5. onions

6. scallions (for garnish)

7. sesame seeds (for garnish)

Here's how to prepare the 닭죽 (chicken).

1. Dice the vegetables and chicken.

2. In a medium sauce pan, add oil and set on stove with medium to high heat.

3. Put vegetables in sauce pan, and stir until onion is translucent.

4. Add water and rice to the pan.

5. Stir to keep rice from sticking to the bottom.

6. Add salt to taste. If you want, you can also add chicken / vegetable broth to give it an even richer flavor.

7. Cook until the water and rice are a consistently gelatinous and thick texture.

8. Transfer the amount of 죽 you want into a bowl. Add the chopped scallions on top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Then, add a dash of sesame oil on top.

9. Serve with the same sauce as above, to be eaten with each bite to taste.

Yesterday, I had the 닭죽. It turned out a little bland which is why the sauce on the side really helped. When I don't have an appetite, this usually helps me pick it back up which is what happened yesterday. My sister and my mom enjoyed a bowl of it too! 죽 can be made into an all vegetarian dish, and can also be a very sweet dish as well. It is incredibly versatile, and it really reminds me of the old days (not that I've ever been) when people were still wearing 한복 (hanbok) and cooking their meals over a fire, outside. It's one of my favorite ways to not only feel connected to my own childhood memories but to also transport myself back to what I imagine my ancestors' lives were like. Though I'm sure back then, the option to make 죽 fancier than just plain white 죽 was probably very infrequent as these other ingredients were hard to come by.

I know that you might not ever make this 죽, or, on the contrary, you might be someone who makes it all the time like me! Either way, I hope you all have some kind of dish that brings you to a happy place the way that 죽 does for me. (Cue the scene from Ratatouille when the critic is transported entirely to another world in his past from one bite of the ratatouille.) I'm not really a chef, but cooking has been giving me so much joy these days. Maybe it's because I've grown up watching how food always brings my family together. Both the act of cooking and the food itself have been providing blissful moments for me, and I only wish that you have something like that for you to hold you down this fall and winter.

happy cooking (and eating),

michelle

photos by me from south korea