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1
Place the adzuki beans in a medium pot with enough cold water to cover generously, then bring to a full boil over high heat and boil for 5 minutes. Drain completely and discard this first water, because doing so removes the harsh, astringent edge that would otherwise dominate the finished porridge — a flavour decision, not a precautionary measure. The beans will appear slightly swollen and deep red.
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2
Return the drained beans to the pot, add 1.5 litres of fresh cold water, and bring to a boil before reducing to a steady simmer. Cook uncovered for 1 to 1.5 hours so that the steam can escape freely and the liquid concentrates into a deep, opaque brick-red rather than staying pale and thin. The beans are ready when they crush completely without resistance between two fingers.
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3
Pass the cooked beans and their liquid through a fine sieve set over a large bowl, pressing firmly with the back of a ladle to force the flesh through while retaining the skins in the sieve — pressing slowly and in stages rather than all at once extracts more of the dense, starchy flesh and gives you a thicker, more uniform base. Discard the skins. Thin, pale orange liquid indicates insufficient bean concentration; return it to the heat to reduce before proceeding.
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4
To make the saealsim, combine the sweet rice flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl, then add the hot water gradually, mixing first with a spoon before kneading by hand into a smooth, pliable dough — hot water partially sets the starch as you work it, so the finished dumplings will have a chewy, yielding bite rather than turning gummy in the porridge. The dough should hold its shape without cracking at the edges when pinched.
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5
Pinch off small pieces of the saealsim dough and roll them between the palms into marble-sized balls, working toward a uniform size so they cook through at the same rate and none emerge raw at the centre while others are already done. Set the balls aside on a lightly floured surface so they do not stick together before going into the pot.
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6
Transfer the sieved bean liquid to a clean pot and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently so the thick base does not catch and scorch on the bottom, which would leave a bitter, smoky undertone through the whole pot. Drop the saealsim balls into the simmering porridge and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, removing them as soon as they float and their edges turn slightly translucent, before the centres go soft and lose their chew.
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7
Season with fine salt. The porridge should occupy the space between sweet dessert and savoury soup — the salt should bring forward the beans' natural sugars without the dish reading as seasoned broth; adjust salt only, adding sugar sparingly if at all. The finished porridge should flow slowly and continuously from a tilted spoon; a paste-like consistency that holds its shape has been over-reduced.