Patjuk (Red bean porridge)

@sungsook-park

According to Chinese mythological stories handed down, once upon a time, there was a man called Gong Gong. He had a spoiled son who had a cruel temper. After his son died, he became a ghost, causing epidemic disease. While Gong Gong tried to figure out how to prevent the disease, he remembered that while his son was alive, his son hated ‘red bean soup’. He made Patjuk and shared it with his neighbors. Because of this myth, Korean people prepared Patjuk and before eating scattered it in the kitchen, yard, gate, and storage to drive ghosts away. Even when you move or build a new house, there is a custom of picking red bean porridge, sprinkling it inside and outside the house, and sharing it with your neighbors. 

Ingredients

• 90 grams (0.5 cups) non-glutinous rice
• 230 grams (1.33 cups) sweet red bean
• 800 grams (4 cups) scalding water
• 2.4 liters (12 cups) boiling water
  Rice balls:
• 100 grams (1 cup) glutinous rice powder
•  0.5 grams (0.125 tsp) salt
•  23 grams (1.5 tablespoons) water
•  4 grams (1 teaspoon) salt 

Instructions

Preparation

1. Wash the rice. Soak it in water for 2 hours. Drain the water through a strainer for 10 minutes.
2. Wash the red beans. Remove any foreign elements. Drain the water through a strainer for 10 minutes. 

Recipe

1. Put the red beans and the water into a pot. Heat it up for 4 minutes over a high heat. When it boils, continue to boil for another 3 minutes. Discard the water. Add fresh water to the pot and boil it for 10 minutes over high. Lower the heat to medium and boil for 1 hour and 20 minutes to ensure that the red beans are thoroughly cooked.
2. While the cooked red beans are still hot, strain out the red beans by mashing them with a wooden spoon. Keep about 1.6 liters (8 cups) of boiled red bean water. Let the mashed red beans settle for 30 minutes.
3. Sprinkle salt over the glutinous rice powder and knead with hot water. Shape into rice balls about 1.5 centimeters in diameter.
4. Put about 880 grams (4 cups) of the red bean water, from above, into a pan and soak in it the rice. Heat it up for 4 minutes over a high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium and boil for another 20 minutes while stirring continuously.
5. When the rice is thoroughly soaked, add the red bean sediment. When it boils again, continue to boil it for 10 more minutes. Add the rice balls and wait for 1 minute. When the rice balls float, season the dish with salt and bring it to yet another boil.