Korean CHICKEN PORRIDGE 닭죽 Dak Juk Recipe

Dak Juk Recipe Nom Nutrition Facts –

• GINSENG: Asian Ginseng (panax ginseng) has anti-inflammatory properties, boosts the immune system, aids in concentration and mental performance, promotes a healthy heart, improves mood, and reduces fatigue.
• DATES: Dates are loaded with fiber, potassium, magnesium, B-vitamins, copper, and iron for digestive, heart, brain, and bone health, as well as for providing energy.
• GARLIC: Rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and manganese, garlic boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, and lowers cholesterol. 
• SWEET RICE: Sweet rice is loaded with carbs for energy, manganese to aid in processing those carbs as well as for a healthy metabolism, and fiber for a healthy heart and digestive tract.
• CHICKEN: Chicken’s full of lots of protein for healthy muscles.

Cultural Fact: Dak Juk is known for its soothing and restorative health benefits and commonly eaten by Koreans when they are sick with a cold or flu. It is the chicken noodle soup of Korea, and many Koreans know the Dak Juk recipe by heart.

Story Time

As I write this, I am blowing snot bubbles out my nose and choking on my own air because adulting is hard and the winter flu punched me in the face after stealing all my lunch money. Thankfully, I do not have to worry about snot-infused porridge though because Chef John is the one cooking this recipe while I am tasked with the menial quest of holding a camera and not dying.
This whole project developed as a result of the following conversation:

Chef John Park (to his mother): I have to get home. My girlfriend is sick.
Chef John’s mother: Oh, your girlfriend is sick? You should make her Dak Juk!

Five minutes later I’m crawling out of the comforts of my flu bed to arm myself with a camera as I watch my kitchen explode with the culinary marvels of this Korean dish I’ve never before seen and therefore must document for my website.

“Go back to bed, baby.” My boyfriend scolds me from across the room, but I have already convinced myself that I am Superwoman. And I am invincible. And I’m on a mission. And maybe if I blow a big enough snot bubble, it will form a balloon, and then I can fly away on it to some place where humans do not get sick.

I try and fail and choke on more air instead. Chef John brings me a bowl of Dak Juk, and I abandon my dreams of floating off to Never Neverland as I sink my face into a frothing pillow of porridge. It tastes like happiness and warm hugs.

You can taste it, too, by following the recipe below. *Snot sold separately.

Dak Juk Recipe Ingredients:

Dak Juk Recipe Directions:

Step One — Peel the garlic. We used six cloves, but you can add more or less depending on how much you like garlic.

Optional Step Two — We like to place the ginseng in a little cooking-satchel for easy boiling and removal from broth after cooking. It’s kinda like a tea bag…but bigger.

Step Three — Remove the skin from the chicken, and place it in a large pot with enough water to cover the entire bird by about an inch or two. We used about 10 cups. Add to the pot a handful each of fresh garlic cloves, ginseng, and dates. Bring to a boil. Then add a lid and continue to boil until water turns from clear to a soft golden color. This should take approximately 20 minutes.

Step Four – Once the broth is a lovely golden color, use a colander to strain out excess particles (rebel bones, renegade fat pieces, floaty bits that weren’t invited to the party but showed up anyway) in order to create a much cleaner broth and soup. We don’t like taking big bites of soup and accidentally getting globs of cartilage in our mouth that slipped unnoticed off the chicken while boiling. This step eliminates that.

Step Five – Place the newly strained broth back on the stove. Pull or cut strips of the chicken from the bone and place them in a bowl with the other boiled ingredients (ginseng, dates, and garlic). Rinse these items and add them back to the pot on the stove.

Step Six – Wash the sweet rice and add it to the pot with the other ingredients. The amount of rice needed will vary according to the size of your pot and the amount of water you added in Step Three. You also have the option of reserving some of the broth you made to make more porridge with rice at a later time. As a general rule, add 1 cup of sweet rice for every 3 cups of broth you will be using. Once decided, add your rice (wash it first), and then boil until the rice is completely cooked. Then continue to simmer for about another 45 min before eating for best results.

Step Seven – Once the rice has cooked and the soup has thickened into a more porridge-like consistency, it should be ready to eat. Scoop into a bowl and serve.

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