Easy pumpkin porridge recipe. Learn how to make Korean style pumpkin porridge!

Korean pumpkin porridge (Hobakjuk, 호박죽) is a popular snack / dessert, but some people even eat it for breakfast too. It’s sweet, nutty and velvety. A perfect comfort food in fall and winter!

The Korean word – Hobak (호박) is a generic term for pumpkin, squash (US) and zucchini. But when we refer to Hobakjuk (호박죽), it is usually made with danhobak (단호박), which is known as kabocha squash, Japanese pumpkin, and Kent pumpkin in some English speaking countries.

Among other benefits, pumpkin porridge is known for reducing swelling after surgery in Korea. So it’s a popular get well gift.

The porridge is often seasoned with sugar, but as kabocha squash is naturally sweet, you can reduce it or even skip it per your preference.

Though while my sister was taste testing my recipe, she said 1/4 cup sugar is about the right amount to match the taste of store bought hobakjuk. But that much sugar gave me a headache, so I decided to add less sugar than that in my recipe. (I’m only sharing this information in case you want to mimic the taste of store bought porridge. 😉 )

Korean pumpkin porridge has a velvety smooth texture so it is a popular baby food as well. But if I were using this recipe for a baby, I would omit the sugar, salt and the rice cake balls. Alternatively, you can use this recipe that I used for my daughter. It was one of her favorite baby foods back in the days.

Another highlight of Korean pumpkin porridge is rice cake balls. (Some people might call it rice dumplings). These balls are made with sweet rice flour (mochiko) and its jelly like texture is quite fun to eat with the porridge. My sister reckons it’s the best part!

Interestingly, these rice cake balls are called Saealsim (새알심) in Korea. That means bird’s egg. It’s probably named like this because they look like small bird’s eggs.

Depending on how you use these balls, they can be used to thicken your porridge, but I mainly use them as a garnish and use additional portions of sweet rice flour to thicken the porridge.

Now that all the basics are covered, let’s get cooking! Hope you enjoy my recipe!

P.S. If you like kabocha squash, don’t forget to check out my pumpkin spice latte (without coffee) & Korean style pumpkin latte (no coffee) recipe! (Both recipes can be found in the same link.)

Ingredients for Korean Pumpkin Porridge, Serves 6

Main

1.7 kg / 3.7 pounds (unpeeled weight) kabocha squash / kent pumpkin or butternut squash
3 cups water
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
3 Tbsp water
3 Tbsp (raw) sugar or more to taste
1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Rice cake balls (Optional) – Make 30 small balls

1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
4 to 5 Tbsp hot water

*1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml

How to Make Pumpkin Porridge

1. Cut the pumpkin (kabocha squash) into quadrants. Remove the seeds and stringy bits with a knife and/or spoon.

2. Place the pumpkin into a steamer and steam them over rolling boiling water until the pumpkin is tender and soft. Cool down the pumpkin until it’s easy to handle. Cut the skin off from the flesh and discard. Chop the pumpkin into smaller chunks.

3. Place the pumpkin, water (3 cups), sugar and the salt into a blender. Blend it until pureed. Pour the liquefied pumpkin into a medium size saucepan and boil it over medium high heat for 10 mins. Stir it often to avoid it burning.

4. Combine and mix the sweet rice flour and the water (3 Tbsp) in a small bowl. It should be a sticky gluey texture. Gradually pour it in to the pumpkin porridge and stir it consistently to avoid lumps. Simmer the porridge over low heat for a further 3 mins. Remove it from the heat and serve. (Optionally, garnish with some rice cake balls.)

The porridge can be served warm or cold. The unused portion can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a month. It reheats well in a microwave but make sure you cover with a microwaveable lid to avoid a messy clean up afterwards.

How to Make Rice Cake Balls

(This optional process can be done while the pumpkin porridge is boiling in step 3 above.)

1. Combine the sweet rice flour and salt. Gradually pour the hot water over them and start kneading with your hands. (Watch out for the hot temperature. Though it cools down fast. You can use a mixing spoon initially until it’s safe to handle with your hands.)

Make a big dough then turn it into a long thin cylinder shaped dough. Break the dough into smaller pieces (allow to make 30 small balls) then roll them on your palm, making small rice cake balls. (You might be tempted to make bigger balls to save your time and labor, but small balls taste better and it balances out well with the porridge quantity.)

2. Boil some water in a small pot. Once the water is rapidly boiling gently drop in the rice cake balls. Boil them for about 2 minutes. (They will sink to the bottom at first then they will float as they are cooked.)

Scoop out the rice cake balls using a strainer then transfer them into a bowl with (cold) water then set it aside until needed.