Kelly's Jook (Rice Porridge)

Categories: Korean, World Cuisine
Contributed by: Kelly CA (with a lot of helpful comments by herself and others at page bottom)

I make jook(rice porridge) about three times a month around here. Ger and I love to have it for lunch with kimchi along side. Dev had always refused to try it. He likes the kimchi but was suspicious of the jook. Yesterday, Ger coaxed him into trying some and when it hit his taste buds, he let out a a long, rapturous, "MMMMMMMMMMMMM" . He then asked for some and ate the whole bowl.
This morning, when I asked him what he wanted for breakfast he said, "Mommy, I want JOOK!".
We now have a convert!

All you do is put two cups of rice in a large stockpot and add a ton of water. Add a couple of pieces of fresh ginger and a few garlic cloves, chopped.
I also add a smoked ham shank. You can also use chicken or even left-over turkey.
You then just let it simmer for a LONG time(a couple hours), till it is REALLY thick. Make sure you stir it often so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. When it is done, remove the boones of the meat and shred the meat and add it back to the pot.
Serve it in individual bowls with a splash of soy sauce(it is generally bland, so, you season it with soy sauce instead of salt) and a few drops of sesame oil on top...you can also sprinkle top with chopped green onion, if you like.
YUM!!!

Sorry...here are some specifics on the pot I use.
I use an 8 qt. stock pot. I do not fill it with water all the way to the brim because it gets quite bubbly and can overflow...this IS NOT GOOD, as it makes quite an icky mess when that happens.
With a 5 qt, I would probably cut down to 1 1/2c. rice and then fill it to a couple of inches from the top of the pan.
For the ginger...I just put in a couple of chunks, UNpeeled.
On a side note... I store my ginger in the freezer(in a ziplock) so it doesn't spoil. When I buy it, I cut some chunks(about 1 inch thick) off the main piece, just for using in jook. The rest of the piece I leave whole. When I need grated ginger for a recipe, I just take it out of the freezer and grate it(I use a Microplane grater...one of the best inventions EVER for the kitchen). You'd be surprised how well it grates when it's frozen. Plus, no more moldy ginger sitting in the fridge!
I HAVE seen slow cooker recipes for jook around. Maybe your rice cooker came with a recipe??? I have never cooked it in our rice cooker before...just simmer on top of the stove on low heat.
It is REALLY good, made with a ham bone!!! ;-)
I have also seen jook recipes using a combo of brown and white rice. I use medium grained white rice...

Jen in NJ & others commented on above recipe with:

Jen in NJ:

Just wanted to say thanks for that recipe! I did it in the crockpot...1 hambone, 1 cup brown rice, 3/4 cup white rice, 1 hunk ginger, 3 cloves garlic, and water up to the top. Just let it cook all night. It was DELICIOUS! Thanks for pointing me in the direction of that recipe again!

Kelly's reply:

Oh, I'm so glad you like it!!!
We top it with some soy sauce, a few drops of sesame oil and some chopped green onion. Stir it all up and YUM!!!

Christine asked if she didn't have a ham bone, could she use ham or ham hocks, smoked or regular instead.

Kelly replied:

"I use a smoked ham shank or a couple of smoked ham hocks if I don't have a ham bone.
The smoky flavor of the ham really adds a nice flavor to the jook.
You can also use chicken, but, I prefer it made with ham."

Kathleen IL asked:

What to do with the garlic, leave the cloves whole or crush them? Do I just use the same rice/water proportions as my rice cooker if I'm cooking in a crockpot?

Jen in NJ replied with:

I used the proportions I shared in my 1st post in my crockpot. I minced the garlic, but next time I'll probably just halve it. Thanks again Kelly! I just can't get over how creamy and YUM it is!!!

Kelly added:

I usually just slice the garlic into the pot. It sort of disintegrates in there.
You use A LOT of water. I do it on the stove top and use 2c. rice to about 18c water. I let it cook for several hours, at very low heat, stirring occasionally. I have a smallish crockpot, so, I never made it in there.
I make a BIG stockpot full. Dev LOVES it and even wants it for breakfast if we have it in the fridge.

ShiShi added:
I'll have to try yours! I make this several times a week for breakfast in my little crockpot. I just put in a handful of rice and maybe a cup and a half of water, some powdered ginger (fresh if I have it- thanks for the tip on freezing it, sounds better!), a cut up stalk of lemongrass if I have it, and some turkey if available. If no turkey, I use chicken broth instead of water. It's so good! Mine is just a random smattering of ingredients whereas yours sounds like a real recipe.