The practice of making dotori-muk originated in mountainous areas of ancient Korea, when abundant oak trees produced enough acorns each autumn to become a viable source of food.

[2] Despite being a rich source of starch and proteins, acorns contain large amounts of tannins and other polyphenols, which prevent the human body from digesting them properly.

This starch is allowed to completely settle at the bottom of the vat, the water drained away and the paste collected in trays to dry.

Dotori-muk is also commercially available in powdered form, which must be mixed with water, boiled until pudding-like in consistency, then set in a flat dish.

Like other muk, dotori-muk is most commonly eaten in the form of dotori-muk-muchim (도토리묵무침), a side dish in which small chunks of dotori-muk are seasoned and mixed with other ingredients such as slivered carrots and scallions, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, red chili pepper powder, and sesame seeds.