Pumpkin squash porridge (Hobakjuk).

Today I cook the Pumpkin squash porridge (Hobakjuk). The recipe that I see used Butternut but I used Pumpkin because my market only sold Pumpkin. I think the taste is almost the same and their meat colour look almost alike. HAHs. Actually I wanted to buy small Pumpkin and again my market never sold, instead they sold me part of a big Pumpkin.

Ingredients I used:
Part of a Pumpkin which is about 2 small pumpkin.
Sweet rice flour or or I use glutinous rice flour
Water, salt, sugar

My steps to prepare Pumpkin squash:
1. Clean and remove seeds from the pumpkin.
2. Cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces.
3. Water boiled it until it is soft. (chopstick is easily poked through and removed)
4. Cool it and scrape the meat (3 cups) into a big pot.
5. Add 4 cups of water and let it boil.

My steps to prepare rice cake balls:
1. 1 and a 1/2 cups of glutinous rice flour + little bit of salt, 1/2 cup of hot water.
2. Mix it until it cool down then knead it into a dough.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set it aside for 30 minutes.
4. Sprinkle a handful of glutinous rice flour onto the bowl where you will place your rice cake balls.
5. Roll the dough into many small (slightly larger than soy bean) round balls.
*Notes: I divide my dough into 4 parts. When I am dealing with one part, I will keep the other parts in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

My final product:
1. When the Pumpkin squash boiled, add the rice cake balls into it.
2. Cook until the rice cake balls float up which means it is cooked.
3. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and little bit of salt.
4. Serve it!

It will taste even nicer if you fridged the leftover which taste like ice cream.
Recipe from: http://www.maangchi.com/recipes/hobakjuk

Scroll down for photos.

Benefit of Pumpkin:
- high in carotenoids. Carotenoids are really good at neutralizing free radicals, nasty molecules that can attack cell membranes and leave the cells vulnerable to damage.
- high in lutein and zeaxanthin, which scavenge free radicals in the lens of the eye. Therefore, they may help prevent the formation of cataracts and reduce the risk of macular degeneration, a serious eye problem than usually results in blindness.
- a lot of common nutrients, like iron, zinc, and fiber.
- Iron, of course, is needed by red blood cells.
- Zinc deficiency may be related to osteoporosis of the hip and spine in older men.
- Fiber is important for bowel health.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/61101/the_health_benefits_of_pumpkins.html?cat=5

End products:

Dough wrapped in plastic bag for 30 minutes.
Part of pumpkin that I brought from market.

Delicious! Yummy!End product. Yummy!Cooked pumkin.
Cute rice cake balls.
Dough divided into parts.
Cooking the pumpkin.