Traditional Korean Porridge

Also known as "health food," get well food, and food Korean men don't consider a meal.

I recently ate at a restaurant called, "Korea Traditional Porridge Restaurant," a couple minutes East of Hotel Castle in Suwon. I ate alone until a Texan business man walked in, and proclaimed he had been dining here on a regular basis because he can't handle the kick of most Korean food. Korean porridge is mild, and comes in various flavors like seafood (which is more like a stew, shrimp was his choice) and my favorite: pumpkin.

Remember when I was served pumpkin soup at a Korean family's home in Seoul? Click here.

The direct translation for Chuk is "gruel", which sounds downright unappetizing, so Koreans use the more palatable word, "porridge." The porridge is made by steaming grain over low heat until it thickens into a thick liquid ready for the ingredients. Pumpkin soup is sweet, hot and home to chewy rice balls and the odd pumpkin seed. It's definite comfort food, even in the heat of summer.

Pumpkin Porridge (with sidedishes and juice): 6USD

DO YOU LIKE KOREAN PORRIDGE? LET ME KNOW!