Acorn Jelly

Acorn Jelly is a popular ingredient in Korea. The acorns need to be gathered, shelled, and ground to paste. The starch is separated from the fiber by settling. Then the starch is soaked in several changes of water until the bitter tannins and toxins have been leached out. It is then dried and ground to flour for storage and use. This is pretty much the same procedure used by American Indians in California.

The dried flour (Dotori Mukgaru) is mixed with some water and salt, and brought to a simmer, stirring constantly, to make a porridge. The porridge is poured into molds and refrigerated to make the jelly. The powder can be found in Korean markets, but the markets often have already made acorn jelly sold in blocks, often made by the store. The photo example was 4-1/4 inches square (at the top edge) by 2 inches thick and weighed 1-1/2 pounds. It is shown bottom side up. It was purchased from a Korean market in Los Angeles for 2015 US $2.99 per pound. In Korea, this jelly is also made into noodles, but to a much lesser extent.

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A major use for this jelly is in making salads, called Dotorimuk Muchim, It is also used as a snack (plain), appetizer (seasoned), and in soups.

Cooking:   Once made, the jelly requires no cooking. For salads and appetizers, it is just sliced up and seasoned. For soups it is often sliced into long narrow strips, which are placed over rice in a bowl. The hot broth is then poured over.