Korean Red Bean Porridge (Pat Jook)

By
Naomi Imatome-Yun
Naomi Imatome-Yun
Asian food expert Naomi Imatome-Yun is a freelance writer and the author of four Asian food cookbooks.
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Updated on 12/28/22
Korean red bean porridge

The Spruce 

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 3 hrs
To Pre-soak beans: 2 hrs
Total: 5 hrs 5 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
71 Calories
0g Fat
14g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 71
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 788mg 34%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 0mg 2%
Calcium 22mg 2%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 127mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Jook (rice porridge) was always eaten in Korea to stretch grains for the poor and to soothe sick, young, or elderly bellies. It is still enjoyed as a snack, as breakfast or another light meal, or as comfort food for the sick. Pat Jook is smooth and mild with a subtle sweetness, but can also be eaten without sugar in place of regular white rice.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried red beans, soaked for 2 hours

  • 3/4 cup rice, soaked for 30 minutes

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 8 cups water

  • Sugar, to taste

  • Sweet rice balls, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a pot, parboil beans for a few minutes.

  3. Discard water.

  4. Add 8 cups of water and boil until beans are completely soft (2 to 3 hours).

  5. Save about 2 cups of liquid and drain the rest of the beans into a strainer.

  6. Add salt to beans and mash the beans in the strainer set on top of a bowl.

  7. Pour new water over beans and continue mashing, until you have about 7 cups of liquid.

  8. Discard skins in strainer.

  9. Add reserved boiled liquid to mashed bean liquid.

  10. Let the liquid stand undisturbed until bean solids settle.

  11. Add rice and most of bean liquid (without bean solids) to a pot.

  12. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to simmer.

  13. Cook about 8 minutes, or until rice is tender.

  14. Add bean solids to jook in spoonfuls, stirring often so that it does not burn.

  15. If you want to serve with sweet rice balls, you can cut up store-bought sweet rice cakes (injulmi) into small cubes and add them to the jook when it's almost done.

  16. Serve hot bowls of jook with sugar so that diners can adjust it to their own sweetness level (or salt for a savory porridge).