This Korean pumpkin porridge, also known as Hobakjuk (호박죽), is a popular Korean porridge made with pumpkin which can be eaten hot or cold!
I’m going to show you how to make my Korean-style pumpkin porridge recipe which only takes about 15-20 mins to cook once you have steamed your fresh pumpkin to make it soft!
This Korean pumpkin porridge recipe is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, nut-free, and soy-free!
Pumpkin porridge is hearty, creamy warming, and perfect for breakfast! You only need 4 ingredients to make this porridge as most of the flavour comes from the natural sweetness of the pumpkin.
Recipe for Korean Pumpkin Porridge
To make Korean Pumpkin Porridge (aka Hobakjuk 호박죽), you’ll want to use a sweet pumpkin such as Kabocha Squash, Kent Pumpkin or Japanese Pumpkin.
The pumpkin flavours for this porridge mostly come from the naturally sweet and delicious taste of a fresh sweet pumpkin. Today, I used kabocha squash since it was at my grocery store. The fastest way to cook your sweet pumpkin of choice is to microwave for around 2 mins to soften, cut it in half, scoop out the insides, cut it into wedges and steam them over boiling water for 15-20 mins until soft enough for a fork to go in easily.
To get a porridge consistency, we are using glutinous rice flour (ex. sweet rice flour), which is different from regular rice flour and helps create a slightly thicker consistency like porridge. I love to add mini rice balls to the porridge (super easy to make with your sweet rice flour), but it’s optional! Small rice dough balls are deliciously chewy and add a nice texture to the pumpkin porridge.
You can also watch me on YouTube make this creamy pumpkin pasta & other pumpkin recipes!
Ingredients for Pumpkin Porridge
- Sweet Pumpkin (ex: Kabocha Squash, Kent Pumpkin, or Japanese Pumpkin)
- Water
- Salt
- Sugar (optional)
- Sweet Rice Flour
Optional add-in: sweet red beans (commonly used in East Asian desserts)
Measurements in Recipe card below!
How To Make Korean Pumpkin Porridge
1. To begin cooking your sweet pumpkin (also known as kabocha squash, Japanese pumpkin, or kent pumpkin), microwave the whole thing for around 2 minutes until soft enough to cut through relatively easily. If it’s too hard to cut, microwave it for another minute.
2. Next, cut the slightly softened pumpkin/squash in half using a sharp knife. Using a spoon, scoop out the insides.
3. Then, cut the whole thing into about 8-10 wedges; don’t worry about how the pieces look as we will blend them later once it’s softened more.
4. Place the pieces into a steamer and steam for about 15-20 minutes or until soft enough for a fork to go in easily.
5. Take the pieces out of the steamer and allow to cool for a few minutes until it’s cool enough to touch then take a small knife and peel the skin of the wedges. The skin is edible and also relatively soft, so feel free to eat the skin as a healthy snack.
6. Once all the skin is peeled, you’re ready to use the pumpkin squash for your pumpkin porridge. Place the peeled pumpkin pieces into a blender with 3 cups of water and blend until smooth.
7. Place a large pot on the stove on medium-high and add the blended pumpkin/squash, salt, and optional sugar (I recommend adding in 1 tbsp of sugar at a time to adjust sweetness according to preference).
8. Allow mixture to come to a soft boil and cook for about 10 minutes (covered), stirring frequently. Be careful because the heat may cause the soup to spray (wear gloves if needed).
*Optional* While the mixture is coming to a boil, prepare the sweet rice balls by mixing together 1/2 cup sweet rice flour and 3 tbsp warm water in a small bowl. Combine them using your hands and form the dough. Once the dough is formed, rip off a small piece (around 1/2 – 1 tsp worth of dough) and form it into a small ball using your hands. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Carefully add the sweet rice balls into the pot and boil until the balls begin to rise to the top.
9. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sweet rice flour and 1/4 cup water until well-combined, to create a starch slurry. Turn the heat down on your pumpkin porridge to low and slowly pour in the starch slurry while continuously stirring. Let this cook on low for about 2 minutes. This should thicken up the porridge slightly.
10. Enjoy this warm immediately or store it in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. This can be enjoyed hot or cold, depending on your preference (if you made the sweet rice balls, I would recommend eating them warm/hot because they will harden when cold – they should be a chewy soft texture).
Pumpkin Porridge
Equipment
- Steamer or Pot to steam pumpkin
- Blender
- Large Pot
- Spatula
- Small bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Sweet Pumpkin I used kabocha squash (around 900g after steaming and peeling so get one over 900g)
- 3 cups Water
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1+ tbsp Sugar optional, add 1 tbsp at a time up according to your taste (I added up to 4 tbsp of sugar based on my preferred taste)
- 1/4 cup Sweet Rice Flour + 1/4 cup water
Sweet Rice Balls (optional)
- 1/2 cup Sweet Rice Flour
- 3 tbsp Warm water
Instructions
- To begin cooking your sweet pumpkin (also known as kabocha squash, Japanese pumpkin, or kent pumpkin), microwave the whole thing for around 2 minutes until soft enough to cut through relatively easily. If it’s too hard to cut, microwave it for another minute.
- Next, cut the slightly softened pumpkin / squash in half using a sharp knife. Using a spoon, scoop out the insides.
- Then, cut the whole thing into about 8-10 wedges; don’t worry about how the pieces look as we will blend them later once it's softened more.
- Place the pieces into a steamer and steam for about 15-20 minutes or until soft enough for a fork to go in easily.
- Take the pieces out of the steamer and allow to cool for a few minutes until it’s cool enough to touch then take a small knife and peel the skin of the wedges. The skin is edible and also relatively soft, so feel free to eat the skin as a healthy snack.
- Once all the skin is peeled, you’re ready to use the pumpkin squash for your pumpkin porridge. Place the peeled pumpkin pieces into a blender with 3 cups of water and blend until smooth.
- Place a large pot on the stove on medium-high and add the blended pumpkin/squash, salt, and optional sugar (I recommend adding in 1 tbsp of sugar at a time to adjust sweetness according to preference).
- Allow mixture to come to a soft boil and cook for about 10 minutes (covered), stirring frequently. Be careful because the heat may cause the soup to spray (wear gloves if needed).
- *Optional* While the mixture is coming to a boil, prepare the sweet rice balls by mixing together 1/2 cup sweet rice flour and 3 tbsp warm water in a small bowl. Combine them using your hands and form the dough. Once the dough is formed, rip off a small piece (around 1/2 – 1 tsp worth of dough) and form it into a small ball using your hands. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Carefully add the sweet rice balls into the pot and boil until the balls begin to rise to the top.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sweet rice flour and 1/4 cup water until well-combined, to create a starch slurry. Turn the heat down on your pumpkin porridge to low and slowly pour in the starch slurry while continuously stirring. Let this cook on low for about 2 minutes. This should thicken up the porridge slightly.
- Enjoy this warm immediately or store it in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. This can be enjoyed hot or cold, depending on your preference (if you made the sweet rice balls, I would recommend eating them warm/hot because they will harden when cold – they should be a chewy soft texture).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
NEED MORE VEGAN RECIPE INSPO? CHECK THESE OUT:
If you enjoy Korean recipes, try these Korean seaweed rice rolls called Kimbap! You can actually dip these into the tteokbokki sauce as these two dishes are often served together.
I tried this a long time ago and I never knew how simple the ingredients were. Takes a bit of time to make but it’s very easy and worth the wait. I highly recommend the rice balls but you’d have to eat this warm if you make them. So good though,