Overcast. Low 41F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Overcast. Low 41F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.

New York Times food writer Mark Bittman calls Korean food “Japanese food with guts.” It’s a ringing endorsement, he says, of “Korean cuisine’s vigorous, muscular, completely unsubtle flavor profile and aggressive seasoning.”

Invigorating and idiosyncratic, Korean food is heartier and more robustly seasoned than Chinese or Japanese cuisine with lots of garlic, chili, black pepper, green onions, sesame oil and seeds, soy sauce, tofu, soymilk and fermented soy and chili pastes and seafood. Cooks prepare adzuki and mung beans into pancakes and noodles, stuff the paste into rice cakes or toss them cooked and whole with rice.

For centuries ordinary folk depended on vegetables, grains (barley, millet, wheat, sorghum and buckwheat) and legumes supplemented with seafood. Modern Koreans have developed fondness for beef, pork and chicken. With the arrival of American troops and economic growth, meat eating became widespread in South Korea. Bulgogi, thinly sliced marinated and grilled beef and galbi, marinated and grilled beef or pork short ribs, have become national dishes.

Bap (rice) underlies and supports the structure of this vibrant cuisine. It is the most important staple. Korean cooks use rice as a base for every meal: they boil it into juk (rice porridge), grind it for rice cakes and ferment it into rice wine. Two of Korea’s beloved dishes are bibimbap (hot rice garnished with meat and vegetables and seasoned with red chili paste), and kimbap (large sushi-type rice rolls filled with beef and spinach).

Most rice in Asia is grown and consumed locally. It’s cultivated in 2 to 4 inches of water in very level fields or paddies. Shallow water heats quickly and retains heat, which protects young plants. Farmers sow rice in mid-April; they flood the fields for a month while the rice geminates, drain the water to allow plants to root deeper and flood it again. The rice will flower and set seed if conditions are right. After harvest the rice is hulled, polished and dried.

There are three basic rice types: long, medium, and short-grain (but many hybrids exist). They are categorized by amylose (starch) content. The rice starches amylose and amylopectin compose 90 percent of rice. Amylose does not gelatinize during cooking, so rice containing higher levels result in fluffy, separate grains after cooking, which tend to harden after rice is cooled. Long grain white rice has the most amylose and the least amylopectin, so it is the least sticky with the lowest glycemic index.

Amylopectin is the waxy, stickier starch that is higher in medium, short-grain and sticky, glutinous rice. Short and sticky rice has almost no amylose. High amylopectin rice has a characteristic opaque white grain, while higher amylose grains are clearer. Japanese and Koreans use mainly medium-grain rice.

Many Koreans begin their day with jat juk, a homey but elegant, sweet and soupy white rice porridge (also known as congee in China). Koreans prepare many types of juk: with chicken or beef, abalone, pumpkin, chestnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, dried Chinese jujubes or mixed with other grains or adzuki beans. They match their juk with big flavors like kimchi, toasted sesame, pickled cuttlefish, cooked vegetables or spicy octopus.

With special additions juk can transform into a fulfilling meal, a treat or a restorative. Juk is excellent in cold weather or hot, before or after a spicy-hot meal, as baby food, for the young and fit or for the elderly, for queasy stomachs after a night of drinking or when you’re feeling good. In short, Korean juk is a comfort food ideal for anyone, any time.

For more nutrients you may substitute short-grain brown rice, but the porridge will lose its pristine whiteness. For stronger flavor, roast dry rice in skillet until lightly colored before soaking. Lightly toast pine nuts for more flavor, too.

Yields 6-1/2 to 7 cups, 4 to 6 servings

1 C. short-grain sushi type white rice

Rinse rice well and soak in 1-1/2 cups water 30 minutes to 2 hours. Drain rice, reserve water, and place rice in blender with 1/2 cup soaking water. Grind rice until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour rice into 4-quart saucepan. Rinse out blender with remaining soaking water and pour into saucepan. Stir 3 cups cold water into saucepan.

If pine nuts have black nibs, remove them. Rinse and drain nuts. Set aside 4 teaspoons nuts for garnish. Place remaining nuts in blender with 1/2 cup water and grind until smooth. Scrape out nut purée into small bowl and set aside. Rinse blender with 1/2 cup cold water and set water aside separately from purée.

Bring rice mixture to a boil on medium heat. Stir or whisk rice gruel constantly until thickened and creamy, 5 minutes. Rice will settle to the bottom and clump if not stirred constantly. Reduce the heat to low, cover pan and simmer rice gruel 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in ground pine nuts and simmer gruel 1 minute. Thin with reserved blender rinsing water, if desired. Taste gruel, and season with sugar and kosher salt, about 1 teaspoon. To serve, ladle hot gruel into four bowls and top each with 1/2 to1teaspoon reserved pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Refrigerate leftover juk in an airtight container up to 4 days. Reheat on stovetop with enough water or chicken broth to adjust consistency.

Dice vegetables as finely as possible—comparable to the grains of rice. They’ll cook faster and make the juk taste better. Homemade broth in place of water will strengthen the flavor beautifully.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked

3 to 4 medium cloves garlic, peeled

One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 to 3/4 C. finely diced onion

1/2 medium zucchini or summer squash, finely diced

1 large green onion, end trimmed, finely sliced

1 T. Asian toasted sesame oil

Pour 4 cups water (or chicken broth) into a medium saucepan along with chicken breasts, garlic cloves and ginger. Bring mixture to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover partially and cook until chicken is tender and easy to pull apart with a fork, 20 to 30 minutes. Discard ginger and garlic and reserve broth in saucepan. Place chicken in a bowl to cool. When cooled, shred meat with your hands and set aside.

Bring broth back to a boil. Stir in carrot, onion, zucchini and cooked rice. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Broth will have reduced by half. Add hot water or more broth to desired consistency (thick or thin) as necessary. Stir in shredded chicken and the white of the green onion and simmer a minute more.

Season juk with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Ladle juk into individual serving bowls, garnish with the green part of green onion, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Serve hot.

Nancy Krcek Allen has been a chef-educator for more than 25 years and has taught professional and recreational classes in California, New York City and Michigan. Her culinary textbook is called “Discovering Global Cuisines.”

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