Patjuk (팥죽)

Red-bean porridge, traditionally eaten on the winter solstice.

Korean name: 팥죽
Spice level: Not spicy
Flavor: sweet · earthy
Typically contains: red bean
Vegetarian / vegan: Typically plant-based — one of the safer picks for vegans (still confirm when ordering)
Typical price: ₩8,000–₩12,000 per person checked 2026-07 — varies by area
Good to know: Beginner-friendly ●●●○○ Solo dining ●●●●○ Kid-friendly ●●●●○
Also written as: pat juk, red bean porridge, danpatjuk

Spice and flavor are editorial assessments of the standard version — individual restaurants and recipes vary. Ingredient notes are typical, not guaranteed: always check with the restaurant for allergies or dietary needs. Eating and cooking notes describe common practice in Korea; our first-hand deep-dives live in the Eat Like a Local guides.

What is Patjuk?

Patjuk is winter-solstice food with a folklore job: deep-red bean porridge, dotted with chewy rice-cake 'bird eggs' (saealsim), traditionally eaten on Dongji to chase off bad spirits — red being the color ghosts avoid. Sweet-leaning cafés and savory-leaning grandmothers both claim it, and both are right.

How to eat it

Choose your camp: lightly salted (traditional) or sweetened (danpatjuk, café-style) — many places let you season it yourself.
Chase the saealsim rice balls; count them like dumplings.
Eat with dongchimi or nabak-kimchi — watery kimchi is the classic foil.

Cooking it at home

Boil red beans until crushable, then press through a sieve or blend, saving the liquid.
Simmer the bean purée with soaked rice until thick, stirring constantly.
Drop in glutinous rice balls; salt or sugar at the table.

Good to know

It scorches easily in the last stage — constant stirring or a heavy pot.

On Dongji (winter solstice, ~Dec 22) patjuk appears everywhere from temples to convenience stores — one of the last truly living food folklore days.

Nutrition

Calories	81 kcal
Carbohydrate	16.66 g
Protein	3.17 g
Fat	0.19 g
Sodium	127 mg

Per serving (~400g): ≈324 kcal · sodium ≈508 mg (25% of the WHO daily guideline, 2,000 mg)

Per 100g · total serving 400g · Official data: National Integrated Food Nutritional Information Standard Data (Korea MFDS) (DB item: 팥죽, synced 2026-07-17). Values vary by recipe and portion.