Congee - Korea

Korea

In Korea, the dish goes by the name juk 죽 derived from the Chinese language in which juk or jook means the same thing. More than 40 varieties of juk are mentioned in old documents. Depending on the ingredients and consistency, juk can be considered as a food for recuperation (much like chicken soup in modern American culture), a delicacy, or food during famine and war.

The most general form of juk is simply called heen juk (흰죽, white juk), which is made from plain white rice. Other varieties include different ingredients, such as milk, vegetables, seafood, nuts and other grains. Being largely unflavored, it is served with a number of more flavorful side dishes, such as jeotgal, various types of kimchi, pickled cuttlefish, spicy octopus, and others.

Notable varieties include jatjuk made from finely ground pine nuts, jeonbokjuk made with abalones, yulmujuk made from Job's tears, and patjuk made from red beans.

Juk is considered the ideal choice of food for babies, the ill or elderly, as it is easily eaten and digested. It is sold commercially by many chain stores in South Korea, and is a common takeout dish.