Pumpkin Porridge or Hobakjuk, inspired by Youn’s Stay

Pumpkin Porridge or Hobakjuk. This is inspired by the cuisine served in the Korean reality show, Youn’s Stay. They serve this as a breakfast dish. This is also good as a dessert. We saw this and knew that it’s going to be delicious. We cooked it and it is as good as how the guests in Youn’s Stay enjoyed it. Soak 1/4 cup of kidney beans and 1/4 cup of glutinous rice in water in separate bowls for 4 hours. Make flower garnish from 2 jujube or red dates. Use a paring knife to slice through a jujube and slowly remove the seed. Once the seed is removed, flatten the jujube and roll it up tightly. Then stack another jujube and continue to roll up. You can make more as it’s really delicious to eat with the pumpkin porridge. Cut a piece of cling wrap and wrap up the rolled up jujube tightly. Place in the refrigerator for about an hour to seal the shape. You can make a big batch of this in advance. You can also make this in the last minute by placing in the freezer for about 5 minutes. After the beans and rice are soaked for 4 hours, boil the kidney beans in water for an hour to 1.5 hours or until they are soft enough to be eaten. Use about 350g to 400g of pumpkin or butternut squash. Cut away the skin and cut into smaller chunks. The pumpkin without skin should be about 320g to 350g. Boil the pumpkin in a pot with 2 cups water for about 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft enough to be mashed. While waiting for the pumpkin to be softened, pour out the water from the glutinous rice soaking bowl. Measure 1/2 cup of the rice soaking water. Blend the strained rice with the 1/2 cup of water until you get a milky rice water mixture. Set aside. When the pumpkin is soft, remove the pot from the stove. Then use a hand blender to blend the pumpkin into a smooth consistency. Bring the pumpkin mash back to a low boil. Pour the rice mixture in small quantity each time and stir in one continuous direction until the pumpkin porridge becomes thicker and show a glossy finish. You may not need to use all of the rice mixture. Add the softened kidney beans and season with 2 tbsp of maple syrup or honey and 1/2 tsp of salt. Stir to mix well. And it’s done. Just spoon the pumpkin porridge into bowls. For garnish, just remove the cling wrap from the chilled jujube and slice thinly. You will see beautiful flower shaped jujube from the cross section. Add one flower shaped jujube and 2 pumpkin seeds on the pumpkin porridge. It looks gorgeous and tastes fantastic.

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