At The Ethnic Market: Korean Comfort Food Edition

At the Ethnic Market highlights international specialty foods and ingredients that you're very unlikely to find at your local Gristedes.

Gothamist has never been a big fan of rice porridge, whether it be Chinese congee or Korean jook. The number of bowls of congee we've eaten can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And we never had occasion to try jook until just the other day. Not that rice porridge is offensive, far from it. Rice porridge in our limited experience is a bland comfort food best suited for infants, the elderly or those suffering from a cold or flu. Which leads us to the subject of this post.

The other day while strolling around N.Y. Chonghap Market with a summer cold and an upset stomach, we found ourselves standing in front of a display filled with an array of 10-ounce tubs of premade jook. There were several flavors, including vegetable, tuna, even a sweet version with cinnamon and pine nuts. Since our stomach wasn't quite that upset, we went something a wee bit more adventurous, abalone. Fully aware that the jook wouldn't be sufficiently robust to satisfy our palate, nor ward off our illness, we headed down the aisle to the banchan case. We settled on a container filled with garlic-spiked dark green slices of kirby coated in red pepper and sesame seeds, aka oi kimchi. Surely the combination of these two Korean comfort foods would go a long way toward warding off any illness.

Upon arriving home we noticed a few things about the little tub of rice porridge. Under the lid were a tiny shovel-like white plastic spoon and two seasoning packets, one filled with seaweed and sesame seeds, and one with sesame oil. The other thing we noticed was that all the text on the container was written in Korean except for a legend on the side reading "Rice Porridge with abalone," and a nutrition facts label pasted over the top, which contained the helpful note, "CONTAINS CRUSTACEAN SHELLFISH."

Nothing on the package indicated how to cook the jook, though the small holes in the top of the lid screamed, "microwave me." Just in case, we contacted a friend who's an expert on all manner of Korean culinaria. She excitedly told us that we had purchased is known as junbok jook, and that this premade version was indeed microwavable.

After zapping it for a little over two minutes we pried the cover off to reveal a thin beige-colored soup bobbing with grains of glutinous rice, chopped carrots and tiny chunks of abalone. We added the seaweed powder and sesame oil, stirred it up and dug in to what was now a greenish colored soup with our little spoon. What sat on the table before us looked nothing at all like the picture on the package. The pieces of abalone were way smaller, not that we expected big honking disks of the stuff for $3.99. The soup itself was pretty bland except for the mild seafood flavor, the sesame oil and a touch of sweetness from the carrot. Eating the crunchy little bits of oi kimchi between sips of jook made things more interesting and provided some sinus-clearing spice.

All in all the, whole meal smacked of something that a Korean grandmother would make to comfort a sick child. With one exception, any halmoni worth her kimchi would never serve junbok jook from a can.

N.Y. Chonghap Market, 72-11 Roosevelt Ave., Jackson Heights, 718-476-8743

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Joe DiStefano on August 14, 2007 10:55 AM

Comments [rss]

guest

that's oi kimchee? I've never seen it look so unappetizing.

#12, just because Jennifer's last name is Chung doesn't mean she's of Korean descent. Ever meet a Chinese with the last name Lee? I have.

guest

I like this guy joe, now if you tell me his dad makes homemade wine every fall, that's a plus.

extra plus if you give it to friends in a two liter soda bottle.

I'm wary of these pre-made meals overseas, the last time I bought a spicy korean ramen in a bowl dealie, it tasted stale.

guest

"teng tzai chok (congee with cuttlefish, pork, fishcake, peanuts and a whole lot of other tasty bits. Very savory!)"

I've actually never been to Congee village but went to some really Chinese place for my congee. Due to my lack of street awareness, I just decided to recommend Congee Village because of its popularity. But that's my favorite kind of congee. I've been eating it since I was little.

Get some fried dough with it. "Yau jah guai" or literally "oil fried ghost".

guest

Sheesh give the guy a break, he's trying stuff out. I didn't think he was being smug about it. Keep digging deeper, Joe, you'll find the good authentic stuff.

guest

#17- yeah he's probably one of those dicks that goes up to asian people and says "Ni HAO MA!" and acts all proud of himself for knowing 3 words in another language and thinks to himself "look at me, I'm so culturally aware!"

guest

I like the fact that this Joe Stefino guy is obviously not asian but thinks he's awesome cause he's using culturally relevant words that he's mispronoucing and misusing. Sure, he knows what Jook and "halmoni worth her kimchi would never serve junbok jook from a can" - so pedantic and smug. this guy is using the terminology all wrong. what an asshat.

guest

"Gothamist has never been a big fan of rice porridge, whether it be Chinese congee or Korean jook." - wait, isn't Jen Chung Korean? why does "Gothamist" always describe their individual tastes in the third person? why Doesn't Joe stefinao say I, Joe Stefino have never been a big fan or rice porridge? All this gothamist third person shit is retarded.

ColinGoh

The best congee in Manhattan is not at Congee Village (which has severely deteriorated in quality) but at Congee (Bowery, between Grand and Hester, run by the original boss of Congee Village). Ask for the yee peen chok (congee with fish slices - very comforting) or the teng tzai chok (congee with cuttlefish, pork, fishcake, peanuts and a whole lot of other tasty bits. Very savory!). Congee also has the best roast chicken in Chinatown. Crispy skin and moist meat...

guest

Stay away from my market, dammit!!! The corn ice cream is all mine. lol

guest

me chinese,

me play joke.

me put pee pee in your coke.

lol

guest

That is not oi kimchee, but oi muchim. Muchim is not fermented, whereas kimchee is.

smallgene

@tkaisen

jook, not gook...

guest

the cantonese also call rice porridge jook (but with the o's pronounced like "book"). and yeah, if you want the good stuff, you need to get your paw-paw to make it for you.

guest

Congee is also eaten regularly as breakfast...

guest

For good congee, go to Chinatown. Or why not the famed Congee Village?

TKaisen

Chinese congee or Korean jook

That's racist?

guest

Man like with anything, jook from a restaurant or premade at a store can't touch anything grandma would cook up (which takes hours of chicken and dates and all sorts of goodness boiling in the same pot).

Hot diggity I could go for some right now.

jonathan

I prefer a mish mash of chicken broth flavored rice porridge with chinese dried pork shavings, pickled radish and sweet gluten with peanuts.

Actually quite filling.