Many people think the Korean word hobak (호박) means pumpkin, but it actually means squash. A pumpkin is really a kind of squash. So in Korea, we make this recipe with pumpkins. But here in the West I can’t easily find the kind of pumpkin Koreans use for hobakjuk. So I learned to make it out of butternut squash, which is available everywhere here.
The recipe for Hobakjuk needs only a few ingredients. But making the small rice cake balls takes some time. I recommend you make the rice cake balls with your family members or friends together. Whenever I make this porridge, I remember my grandmother and my family members. We all made the rice cake balls together. I miss them and all of us who had a great time while making the rice cake balls!
Wash the exterior of the butternut squashes in cold water.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and stringy stuff with a spoon.
Place the butternut squash in a large pot. Pour 3 cups of water over them and bring to a boil over medium high heat for 30 minutes, until the contents become soft.
Turn off the heat and let it cool down.
When it’s cooled down, scrape the cooked insides out with a spoon.
Place 3 cups of the cooked squash insides into a large pot and add 4 or 5 cups of water and boil
Make rice cake balls:
Boil some water.
Make rice cake dough by mixing 2 cups of sweet rice flour, ¼ ts salt, and ¾ cup of hot water. Mix it up with a wooden spoon at first, and then knead it for a few minutes with your hand after it cools down.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set it aside for about 20-30 minutes.
Put about 3 tbs of sweet rice flour into a large bowl (this will prevent the rice cake balls from sticking together).
Take a bit of dough and roll a rice cake ball (the size should be a little larger than soy bean). Put it into the bowl with the sweet rice flour. *tip: to prevent the dough from getting dried out, always wrap the dough in plastic wrap while you are making the rice cake balls
Let’s make porridge!
When the mixture of squash and water starts boiling, add the rice cake balls to the pot. Stir it with a wooden spoon and cook it for a few more minutes. *tip: when it’s cooked, all the rice cake balls will be floating on the surface of the porridge.
Turn off the heat and add 1 ts salt and ¼ cup of sugar and stir it for a few seconds before serving.
Place 1 cup of ground pork and 2 cups of ground beef into a big bowl.
Add 1 ts of salt, 1 tbs of sesame oil, ½ ts of ground pepper and mix it by hand and push the mixture of meat on the side of the bowl.
Wash asian chives (bu chu), dry well with paper towel or cotton cloth and then chop them to make 2 cups. Add 1 tbs of oil and mix it up. Place it in the big bowl next to the ground meat. tip: oil will coat vegetables so that liquid would not come out from it
Chop 4-5 soaked shiitake mushrooms and half an onion and put it into a small bowl.
Add 1 ts of soy sauce, 1 ts of sugar, and 2 ts of sesame oil the small bowl in the last step. Mix it by hand and then transfer it to the big bowl.
Squeeze half a package of tofu using cotton cloth or paper towel and put it into a small bowl. Then add a pinch of salt, 1 ts of sesame oil and mix it and put it next to chopped chives.
In the big bowl, add 3 cloves of minced garlic and mix all ingredients by hand.
Make Mandu:
For fried mandu:
Place one mandu skin on your left hand and put some filling mixture on the center of the skin.
On the half of the edge of the skin, put a little cold water with your fingertips.
Fold skin in half over filling and press edges together to make ripple shape.
Place some vegetable oil on heated pan and add mandu.
Lower the heat over low medium and cover the lid of the pan to cook.
A few minutes later, open the lid and turn over each mandu. Place 2-3 tbs of water and cover the lid. Cook a few minutes more over low heat.
When the mandu is golden brown, transfer it to a plate.
Serve hot with dipping sauce (equal parts vinegar and soy sauce).
For mandu soup:
In a pot, place 6 cups of water, 8 dried anchovies, the leftover shiitake mushroom stems, left over onion and boil it all over medium heat for 20-30 minutes. If water evaporates, you can add more water.
When the stock is well made, remove the anchovies and onion.
Add 1 ts of fish sauce, 2 cloves of minced garlic and your mandu and cover the lid. (you can add more salt if you want)
When mandu cooks properly, it floats to the surface.
Add 1 beaten egg, 2 sliced green onions: Done!
Serve hot with a bowl of kimchi. (ground pepper is optional)
As I mentioned, I made fried squid dish. The poor squid got caught by a Korean fisherman somewhere in the ocean in Korea and got handled mercilessly by someone and dried and came to Canada with my friend. And it had taken photo by me and posted, then got cooked!
What else can I do? It’s delicious. My friend, a Buddhist will give me a dirty look if she sees this.
“ooh, you are cruel!” One day she said, “how can people eat someone else’s flesh!”
Fried squid recipe:
Cut a dried squid into bite size with scissors and soak it in cold water for 1 hour
Beat 1 egg white until it foams and add ½ cup of starch powder, ½ cup of flour, 1 ts of salt, and ½ cup of cold water and mix it to make batter
Drain the squid and dry it with paper towel and add 2 tbs of starch powder and mix it
Pour vegetable oil in a pan and dip each piece of squid into the batter and fry it twice
* Serve with sauce (Mix 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of vinegar)
Fried sweet potato
Slice sweet potato diagonally about ½ inch thick
Dip the piece of sweet potato into the batter and fry it
They were having trouble because the middle of the pancake was too soft. I decided to try it again myself and have jeon for dinner.
Before starting making cooking videos, I never measured anything when I cooked. Also, I never failed! Koreans never measure anything with cups and tablespoons when they cook. But for my videos of course I need to explain how to make these dishes.
So I watched my own video and followed my steps. I found out that it was exactly right! I had a wonderful pancake for dinner. It was nice and crispy.
Even this time I didn’t use any seafood. I put an egg in the middle and it turned out really nice.
So my advice is that if you are having trouble with these recipes, please just follow the recipe as close as you can. Sooner or later it will turn out fine.
Here is the exact recipe, which I wrote down while cooking:
Ingredients:
½ cup of flour, 2/3 cup of water, 1ts salt, 1 egg, vegetables: green onions, chives, zucchini, chili pepper), 2/3 cup of chopped scallop and shrimp, vegetable oil
In a big bowl, place ½ cup of flour, 1 ts salt, 2/3 cup of water and mix it.
Chop ½ cup green onions and 3 cup of Asian chives, and shred zucchini to make 1/ 2 cup. Total cups of vegetables will be 4 cups
Put chopped vegetables into the mixture of flour and mix it up.
Chop 2/3 cup of shrimp, scallop, or squid (optional)
In a big heated pan, put some oil and spread the vegetable pancake batter thinly and lower the heat down to medium.
Place the chopped seafood over the top and press it with a spoon or spatula.
When the pancake is cooked about 80 %, beat one egg and spread it in the center of the pancake and turn it over using spatula or flip it
Add more oil if needed, and serve it hot with dipping sauce by mixing 1 tbs of soy sauce and ½ tbs of vinegar.
*Tip: To make it crispier, add oil more generously and spread the pancake mixture thinly. If your pan is not big enough, I suggest making 2 pancakes.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour, 2/3 cup water, 1 ts salt, 1 egg, some green onions, Asian chives, zucchini, and green chili pepper and vegetable oil.
This food reminds me of my mother’s side grandmother who passed away a long time ago. When I was young, my mother used to send me and my siblings to her mother’s house located in a small village in the countryside during school vacation.
My grandmother was number one cook in the world!
Whatever she made, it was so tasty! I remember she made this vegetable pancake all afternoon because she had to feed so many family members. while she was cooking this pancake, we all waited watching what she was doing until it’s cooked. Once she brought it, we ate it very fast!
When it’s a rainy weekend, one of family members says, “Do we have some materials for “Jeon”(pancake)? Let’s make it!”
Place ½ cup of flour, 1 ts salt, ⅔ cup of water in a big bowl and mix it.
Chop ½ cup worth of green onions, 3 cups of Asian chives, and shred ½ cup of zucchini. This will make 4 cups of vegetables.
Put chopped vegetable into the mixture of flour and water and mix it up.
Chop 2/3 cup worth of shrimp and scallop.
In a big heated pan, put some oil and spread the vegetable pancake batter thinly. Lower the heat down to medium.
Place the chopped seafood over the top and press it down with a spoon or spatula.
When the pancake is cooked about 70%, beat one egg and spread it in the center of the pancake and cook a few minutes over low heat.
Turn the pancake over with a spatula.
Add more oil if needed, and serve it hot with dipping sauce by mixing 1 tbs of soy sauce and ½ tbs of vinegar.
*tip: To make it crispier, add oil more generously and use your spatula to lift the edge of your pancake so that vegetable oil can reach the center. Press the pancake slightly with your spatula.
How to prepare your ingredients before stir frying:
Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly.
Slice a package of white mushrooms (2 cups’ worth).
Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long.
Cut 7 -8 green onions into 7 cm long pieces.
Slice one onion thinly.
Slice 150 grams of beef into thin strips.
Now let’s start!
Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 3 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside. *tip: Take one sample and taste it to see whether or not it’s cooked properly. If it feels soft, it’s finished.
In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.
Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl. *tip: When you drain the hot water from the pot, don’t discard the hot water. Put it back into the pot so you can cook your spinach quickly.
On a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).
Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.
Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.
Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.
Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.
Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.
In this video, I am going to show you how to make “jeon,” a traditional Korean food breaded with flour and eggs. There are many kinds of Jeon, but this one is made with Cod.
Ingredients:
Cod filets (400 grams), flour, olive oil, garlic, salt, ground black pepper, eggs, a red chili pepper, soy sauce, vinegar
You can use fresh or frozen cod. If it’s frozen, thaw it out in the refrigerator.
Rinse the filets in cold water and gently dry them using a paper towel or cotton cloth
Slice it thinly and put it in a bowl.
Sprinkle 1 ts of salt, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 pinch of black pepper into the bowl of cod slices and gently mix it up by hand.
Pour 1 cup of flour into the bowl with the cod, and mix it quickly with your hand so that the cod is lightly breaded.
Beat 2 eggs in a small bowl and add a pinch of salt.
Add 1 chopped green onion and red chili pepper into the beaten eggs.
Heat a pan on the stove over medium high heat.
Add 1 tbs of olive oil or vegetable oil to the pan.
Piece by piece, dip your breaded cod into the beaten eggs, and then place the pieces onto the heated pan.
Lower the heat to medium and cook it.
Turn it over using a spatula or spoon.
Add more oil if needed.
On a big plate, place green lettuce on the bottom and place the cooked fish on it. Now it’s “jeon”!
Serve it with a dipping sauce.
* Dipping sauce: Mix 2 tbs of soy sauce and 1 or 2 tbs of vinegar
"Debbie, You can skip oysters, but if you don’t add rice flour porridge to your kimchi paste, the paste will be too thick. Then it will be difficult for you to..."
- Maangchi in Kimchi and Kaktugi December 27, 2008
"Nishu, oh, thank you very much. I am going to post the information on the forum then. Thanks a lot."
- Maangchi in Black bean paste December 27, 2008
"lilian Ph, oh, I’m sorry to hear that! Next time, use more water and cook longer. Don’t give up! : )"
- Maangchi in Rice cake (gyungdan) December 27, 2008
"pimky, mostly it’s used in side dishes such as seaplant salads, radish salads…"
- Maangchi in Apple vinegar December 27, 2008
"Hello! Maangchi, I am from Singapore, thank you so much for sharing your Korean recipes… I love love Korean food. I just have a question, I make my kimchi..."
- Debbie in Kimchi and Kaktugi December 27, 2008
"hey maangchi i am not able to send information there so i m sending here adress of korean store in New Delhi ,India {A-Mart korean grocery store} A-1 Mahipalpur..."
- Nishu in Black bean paste December 27, 2008
"i tried making it before but at the end the dough is un-cook in the middle. and it turn out hard"
- lilian Ph. in Rice cake (gyungdan) December 26, 2008
"i want to know what is the use of vinegar in korean food? for example in salad, rice???"
- pimky in Apple vinegar December 26, 2008
