New York Times food writer Mark Bittman calls Korean food “Japanese food with guts.” It’s a ringing endorsement, he says, of “Korean cuisine’s vigorous, muscular, completely unsubtle ...

Bags of rice for making Korean rice wine are stored in the walk-in cooler at Rainbrew, on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Woodinville, Wash. Megan Farmer / KUOW These days, makgeolli is enjoying a revival.

My mom would stay up late, soaking rice in water to make me jook, Korean rice porridge, in the morning. I always associated jook with medicine, as it always magically made my stomach feel better.

Koreantown is a modest joint located inside the H Mart. Owner Kristin Lee specializes in juk—Korean rice porridge—flavored with sweet red bean, pumpkin, abalone, beef, or chicken.