Are you a fan of porridge (juk, 죽, in Korean)? Porridge is hugely popular in Korea as a breakfast or a light meal. Because it’s healthy and easy to digest, porridge is also commonly served to the ill, elderly, and babies. Dakjuk (닭죽, chicken porridge) is a family favorite! This chicken-flavored creamy porridge is one of the best when it comes to comfort food, especially on cold winter days!
Made with all sorts of grains, proteins, and vegetables, there are endless variations of porridges in Korea. Along with this chicken porridge (dakjuk), red bean (patjuk,팥죽), pumpkin (hobakjuk, 호박죽), pine nuts (jatjuk, 잣죽) and abalone (jeonbokjuk, 전복죽) porridges are some of the popular varieties.
This dakjuk recipe was originally posted in March 2010 during the first year of my blogging. Here’s the much needed update with an improved recipe and new photos.
Chicken stock and meat for porridge
Traditionally, chicken porridge is made with chicken stock and pulled chicken meat. Often, it’s made with leftover chicken soup, such as dak gomtang (닭곰탕) or baesuk (백숙).
You can simply boil a small chicken or a few bone-in chicken pieces with onion, garlic cloves, ginger and scallions until the chicken is tender. Enjoy some of the boiled chicken just with salt and pepper if you like, and use the leftover stock and meat for porridge.
Alternatively, you can simply use good quality commercial chicken stock and boil some boneless chicken pieces in the stock.
Often, I also make porridge with leftover roasted chicken. If you want to roast chicken at home, this Thomas Keller’s roast chicken recipe is really good. It’s absolutely effortless to make yet so tasty and moist. The leftovers from a store-bought rotisserie chicken work as well.
After enjoying the roast chicken, make chicken stock with the remains by boiling the bones in a pot along with some aromatic vegetables. What a great use of the remains of roast birds!
What type of rice to use
Dakjuk can be made with either short grain rice or sweet rice (aka glutinous rice, chapssal 찹쌀 in Korean). I prefer sweet rice as it gives the porridge a creamier texture and a sweeter taste. Traditionally, the rice is stir-fried in sesame oil before the liquid is added. This adds a deep nutty flavor to the porridge and coats the rice with oil, thus yielding a better porridge texture.
Vegetable options
Typically, dakjuk also features some chopped vegetables. In this recipe, I used carrot, celery, and mushrooms. Zucchini, green cabbage, potato, and garlic chives are all good options. You can chop them finely or roughly, depending on your preference. Adjust cooking time appropriately.
More porridge recipes
Jeonbokjuk (Abalone porridge)
Hobak juk (pumpkin porridge)
Patjuk (sweet red bean porridge)
Have you tried this porridge recipe? Please rate the recipe below by either clicking the stars or leaving a comment! And make sure to share your creations by tagging me on Instagram! Stay in touch by following me on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
- 1 cup short grain rice or sweet rice glutinous rice
- 6 cups chicken stock (see notes)
- 1 to 1-1/2 cups pulled chicken seasoned with salt, garlic, sesame oil, pepper
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 celery stalk
- 3 to 4 mushroom caps
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- Optional garnishes:
- Finely chopped scallion
- Sesame seeds
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Soak the rice for about an hour, and drain.
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Finely chop the vegetables.
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Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to a medium size pot. Add the rice and stir-fry for a few minutes over medium heat, until the rice turns translucent.
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Pour the stock to the pot and bring it to a boil. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and softened. Start with medium low heat, but reduce to lower heat when the stock is visibly reduced. Stir occasionally (more frequently as the stock is reduced) so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
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Stir in the vegetables, cover, and simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. You can also adjust the consistency of the porridge to your taste by adding more stock or water.
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Since the chicken is already cooked, stir it in during the last few minutes of simmering, leaving some to use as a garnish, if desired. You can add salt and pepper at the end or serve on the side. Serve hot with the optional garnish on top.
3 ways to prepare chicken stock and pulled chicken for porridge:
1. Boil a small chicken or a few bone-in chicken pieces with onion, garlic cloves, ginger and scallions until the chicken is cooked through.
2. Use good quality commercial chicken stock and boil some boneless chicken pieces in the stock until the chicken is cooked through.
3. If using leftover roasted chicken, make chicken stock by boiling the remains in a pot along with some aromatic vegetables.
We’ve been making rice porridge a lot using leftover rice – if we cook a dish with rice, and we have more rice than we need for the dish, we’ll wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. Then, if we want to make porridge, we just pull out about 2 cups frozen cooked rice, and use about 4 cups of stock, and cook it just like this, with whatever we have around to put in.
Great idea! I sometimes use leftover rice too. It’s a nice way to use it up and much easier than starting from scratch. Thanks!
Does it matter if is long or short grain rice?
Asian style short grain, sticky rice is best for taste & texture.
Can you use brown rice to make juk?
Yes, you can. It’s called hyun-mi-juk in Korea. Enjoy!
Thank you for helping us non-Koreans who love Korean food to cook some of our favorite dishes. For me, Dakjuk and Kimchi are some of my favs.
This food is one of my son’s favorite food to have in cold days and even hot days as well. Especially when he is sick, he wants to eat Dakjuk.
That looks really yummy and makes me cook it for my family this holiday season.
The plating is always nice on your photo!
Thank you! Such a comfort food! Nice your boy enjoys it.
Can I use sushi rice to make this?
Yes you can!
Wow, I believe dakjuk is one of the easiest and delicious whole hearty meals that I’ve made this year… I used sweet rice as for the vegetables I used finely chopped carrots, green onion, red cabbage with roasted chicken breast.
I will be making more of this porridge trying different vegetables to discover the best flavor and filling meal.
Thank you for the recipe..
I have been watching some kdramas lately and was curious about what exactly rice porridge is.To my surprise, is no other than the food I grew up with back in Europe called rice pilaf.We did eat as a side dish though.Tastes so good and my kids love it.
If I use 6 cups of water instead, then would it not be tasty?