Oh, Halloween…
The dark, creepy, scary, and haunted day of fun and excitement…
Candies, costumes, and of course, the trick or treats…
Halloween has to be one of the most anticipated day of kid’s life every year, and adults, too. Although I did not grow up with this creepy tradition, I do love Halloween and enjoy making treats to join the great celebration.
Today, I am posting a recipe called Black Sesame Rice Porridge (gummun kkejook, 검은 깨죽). Black sesame contains great amount of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibers. Can you imagine how good this would be to prep your body to be ready for all the Halloween sweetness attacking you later on? Although this porridge is often served as a breakfast in Korea, don’t limit to only that purpose. Since this reheats beautifully, you can boil up ahead of time.
Okay, witches of the world! Bring out your old cauldron, and let’s make some serious dark porridge, Korean style!
First thing first. Soak your short grain rice in the water for at least 1 hour. Overnight is even better.
Drain and grind them in a blender with 2 cups of water.
This is personal preference but I like my porridge not too smooth. So I left mine a little coarse (more like granulated). If you like a smooth porridge, puree the rice in a blender.
Grind up the TOASTED black sesame seeds to fine crumbs. Set aside.
Add the blended rice to the pot and add more water, about 2 1/2 to 3 cups.
Bring the porridge to gentle boil over med-high heat. You need to stir it often so that it won’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer.
After simmering about 10-15 minutes (as you stirring often), your rice granules will be softer to the bite.
Add the black sesame powder and 1 teaspoon kosher salt…
Heat the whole thing through. Season with more salt if needed. I also added 1 tablespoon of honey at the end but that is optional choice.
Did you wonder how I did the cute ghost on the picture? Easy! friends.
I have some white cabbage kimchi that I got it for free from at the special Korean dinner party I attended the other night. So I cut out with a cookie cutter. You can rinse out ordinary cabbage kimchi with water to remove the chili, then cut out.
I used black sesame seeds for eyes, and a little piece of seaweed for a mouth. Boo! You got a ghost baby!
This Porridge goes so well with the white cabbage kimchi as a side. What a natural way of balancing black and white? The Porridge will be good for a week or so in the fridge. Just reheat in the microwave whenever you need.
Hope your Halloween this year is the spookiest and creepiest one. I need to come up with a plan how I can create my kid’s choice of Halloween costume this year; the headless man! Urrrgh!
Have a good week!
Boo!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup white short grain rice
- 5 cups of water, divided
- 1/3 cup black sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon honey, optional
Directions
- Rinse the rice several times until you get the clear water. Soak the rice in the water for at least 1 hour. Overnight is preferable. Drain the water off. Set aside.
- Ina small blender, grind up the black sesame seeds until you get the fine crumbs. Set aside.
- Put the soaked rice in a blender and add 2 cups of water Puree until they get coarsely granulated.
- Pour the rice in a pot and add the rest of water (3 cup). Bring it to gentle boil over med-high heat stirring often.
- Reduce the heat to low and keep stirring for another 10 minutes or until the rice granule is tender to the bite.
- Add the sesame crumbs and salt to the rice and mix well. Heat through and add more salt if needed.
- If desired, add a little amount of honey to taste. Serve hot.
- The porridge can be made ahead and reheat in the microwave.
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