When I lost 20kg, pumpkin porridge (Hobakjuk) was one of my go-to meals. In Korea, it’s known as a soothing and healthy dish that helps reduce bloating and makes you feel lighter. It’s easy to digest, comforting, and perfect for anyone looking for a nourishing meal. I’ll show you authentic and easy pumpkin porridge recipe!
Table of Contents
What is Hobakjuk? 호박죽
A Traditional Korean Porridge
Hobakjuk is a traditional Korean porridge made by boiling pumpkin and then adding glutinous rice to simmer together. The original recipe used aged pumpkin, but nowadays, sweet kabocha squash is also commonly used. The taste is smooth and naturally sweet. It is often garnished with boiled red beans, rice cake balls, or pumpkin seeds. Today, I topped mine with dried jujube to enhance the presentation, texture, and sweetness.
Difference Between Hobak Juk and Pumpkin Soup
The biggest difference between Korean Hobakjuk and Western pumpkin soup is that in Korea, it is cooked with water, while in the West, milk, cream, or butter is added. Also, Koreans blend and thicken the porridge using glutinous rice or glutinous rice flour, whereas in the West, flour is used to create thickness. Korean hobakjuk is different from pumpkin oat porridge and also Chinese pumpkin porridge recipe.
Health Benefits — Reduces Bloating and Easy to Digest
Hobakjuk is very soft, making it easy to digest. Pumpkin is rich in potassium and pectin, which help remove excess water and waste from the body, making it excellent for reducing bloating.
Why I Ate Pumpkin Juk During My 20kg Weight Loss Journey
A Light and Satisfying Meal That Keeps You Full
Since it doesn’t contain flour, butter, or cream, Hobakjuk is a light meal. Pumpkin is rich in dietary fiber and water, which help you stay full for a long time even with a small portion. Thanks to that fiber, it also helps prevent constipation — a common issue during a weight loss diet.
Helps Reduce Water Retention and Bloating
As mentioned earlier, Hobakjuk is rich in potassium and pectin, which promote diuretic effects and help remove excess water from the body, making it effective for reducing bloating. That’s why Koreans often eat pumpkin juice or porridge of pumpkin not only during dieting but also after surgery to reduce swelling.
Ingredients for Korean Pumpkin Porridge
Main Ingredients
- Pumpkin: In Korea, people usually use large orange-aged pumpkins or sweet kabocha squash.
- Glutinous rice flour: It is used to control the thickness of the porridge. The original recipe uses soaked glutinous rice that is blended, but outside Korea — in places like Europe or the U.S. — glutinous rice can be hard to find and requires several hours of soaking. That’s why many Koreans now use glutinous rice flour instead, which is simpler and more convenient.
- Water: Unlike Western-style pumpkin soup that uses milk or cream, Korean Hobakjuk is cooked with water, making it much lighter.
Substitutes for Aged Pumpkin
I couldn’t find aged pumpkin or kabocha squash, so I used orange Hokkaido pumpkin instead. If you can’t find that either, butternut squash or any orange-colored pumpkin works well.
Optional Toppings
Some people add saealsim (small rice cake balls), boiled red beans, or dried pumpkin seeds on top. Today, I used dried jujube to enhance the presentation, sweetness, and texture. If you don’t have these ingredients, you can simply skip them.
Hobakjuk Recipe (Step-by-Step)
- After cutting the pumpkin, microwave it for 2 minutes to make peeling easier. Remove the pumpkin seeds and carefully cut off the skin with a knife. Then, cut the pumpkin into bite-sized pieces.
- Put the pumpkin and water into a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium, cover with a lid, and simmer for 10–15 minutes.
- When the pumpkin is fully cooked, put it into a blender and blend until smooth. Make sure to cover the lid while blending because it is hot and can splatter, which is dangerous.
- Pour the blended pumpkin back into the pot and simmer over low heat. When it slightly thickens, pour in the glutinous rice flour mixture to adjust the consistency. Stir continuously with a spatula to prevent lumps.
- Once the porridge becomes thick and smooth, add salt and sugar. Adjust the sugar according to the natural sweetness of the pumpkin and personal preference.
- Slice dried jujube for garnish. To cut them beautifully, peel the dried jujube by rotating it, remove the seed, roll it up, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then slice thinly for a pretty garnish.
Tips for the Perfect Pumpkin Porridge
How to Adjust Sweetness and Texture
- Sweetness: If the pumpkin is naturally sweet, reduce the sugar. If it is less sweet, add more sugar. If you are on a weight loss diet, you can use stevia as a sugar substitute or add honey.
- Consistency: To make the porridge thicker, add more glutinous rice flour mixture. To make it thinner, use less. Since the consistency changes while cooking, it’s best to add the mixture gradually and simmer for about 1 minute each time to check the thickness.
- Texture: If you want to keep some bite from the pumpkin, blend it slightly less. In today’s recipe, I blended it completely for a very smooth texture.
How to Store and Reheat Hobak Juk
Add a little water and reheat over medium-low heat. Stir while reheating because the porridge can stick to the pot and burn.
Best Times to Enjoy It
It is usually eaten in the morning when digestion is difficult. It is also eaten after surgery when swelling occurs, or when circulation is poor and the body is bloated. That’s why eating Hobakjuk during a weight loss diet can help reduce bloating.
Korean Pumpkin Porridge for a Lighter Body
Why Koreans Believe Pumpkin Helps Reduce Swelling
Pumpkin is excellent at helping the body remove excess water and waste. That’s why Koreans often drink pumpkin juice or eat pumpkin porridge to relieve swelling. If you are on a weight loss diet, it is best not to add sugar.
Other Korean Dishes Using Pumpkin
Pumpkin Injeolmi
Do you have leftover pumpkin? Then you must try making this pumpkin injeolmi. The ingredients are the same as those used for Hobakjuk. With pumpkin and glutinous rice flour, you can make chewy and sweet Korean rice cakes (tteok). Here’s an easy pumpkin injeolmi recipe you can make at home.
Get Ingredients on Amazon
FAQs About Korean Pumpkin Porridge
What is Korean pumpkin porridge?
Korean pumpkin porridge, called Hobakjuk, is a traditional, smooth, and naturally sweet porridge made by boiling pumpkin and glutinous rice flour together. It is comforting, easy to digest, and often eaten to reduce bloating.
What kind of pumpkin is best for porridge?
Orange Hokkaido pumpkin, kabocha squash, Kent pumpkin, butternut squash, or any sweet squash with an orange color works well.
Can pumpkin help you lose weight?
Yes. Pumpkin is low in calories, rich in fiber, and keeps you full for a long time. It also helps reduce bloating, making it a good choice for a weight loss diet.
What’s the best porridge for weight loss?
Light and low-calorie porridges like Hobak Juk are ideal because they are easy to digest, filling, and help manage water retention without adding unnecessary fat or sugar.
Korean Pumpkin Porridge to Reduce Bloating: Hobakjuk
Ingredients
- 600 g aged pumpkin (regular orange pumpkin), peeled
- 500 g water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 100 ml water
- 2 tbsp glutinous rice flour
- 1 pcs dried jujube (optional)
Equipment
- 1 Knife & cutting board
- 1 Blender
- 1 Spatula
Method
- Cut the pumpkin into ¼ pieces. Pour half a cup of water into a microwave-safe bowl, add the pumpkin, and microwave for 2 minutes.
- Remove the seeds and peel off the skin. Cut the pumpkin into bite-sized pieces.
- Put the pumpkin and 500g of water into a pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once it starts boiling, reduce to medium heat, cover with a lid, and simmer for 10–15 minutes.
- When the pumpkin is fully cooked, blend it until smooth.
- Pour the blended pumpkin back into the pot and simmer over low heat.
- When it slightly thickens, mix the glutinous rice flour with water to make a slurry and pour it into the pot. Stir continuously to prevent lumps.
- Once the porridge becomes thick and smooth, add salt and sugar. (Adjust to taste.)
- Slice the dried jujube and place it on top as a garnish.
- Enjoy Hobakjuk (Korean pumpkin porridge)
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
Disclosure: Blonde Kimchi is part of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that allows websites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and promoting products.
