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| Korean meals come with banchan--or side dishes. For this one, we got very few of it, but it was okay since there were only two of us eating. |
I was not a fan of kimchi for the
longest time. I loved Korean food but I never touched the kimchi because… let’s be honest, it’s smelly. Not that I am
averse to eating smelly food—I eat Asian shrimp paste, dried fish and Filipino bagoong just fine—but the fermented
stuff like pickles and sauerkraut and yes, kimchi used to get to me. Until one
day, in preparation for this Korean trip, I figured I should try it again
because what kind of adventure would I have if I can’t even try all the different
types of kimchi in Seoul?!? I bravely pinched my nose and chomped on a kimchi
and it was delicious!
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| Scalding hot Kimchi Stew! It's literally still boiling in the stone pot as it is given to you! |
Fast track to Korea and I’m eating cabbage kimchi, radish
kimchi, honeydew kimchi among others and searching for, nay, craving Kimchi
Jjigae or Kimchi Stew! It’s a lovely hot and spicy broth of kimchi and tofu
goodness. I’m sure that sentence will make most people pause but I assure you,
it’s great.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t very easy to find this meal in
Seoul. In Hongdae, we asked at the information center and the ladies were
stumped and wanted us to walk maybe a mile and a half from their location to
find this concoction. I figured we’d find it in Insadong, it being traditional
yet touristy and all. But, to no avail!
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| This place in English is called Sangolmul and it is located in one of the small alleys in Insadong. They offer prefixe meals but you can order ala carte from the menu or like me, just ask for what you want. :) |
Luckily, this grandma spied us on one of the little alleys
in Insadong, asked us if we were looking for food in sign language (you get to
be well-versed in gesturing and calculator-speak in Seoul!) and when I looked
at their menu and it didn’t mention Kimchi Jjigae, she nodded vehemently and
ushered us into their restaurant. Her son, who spoke English, had then gone out
and said yes, Grandma will make the Kimchi Jjigae specially for me for KRW
7,000 ! That is cheaper than any of the food in their menu!
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| Arthritis keeping you from sitting cross-legged on the floor? Don't worry, they do have regular seating. |
We walked in to this tiny restaurant, took our boots off and found a low table. We sat on the floor—as was traditional in the country—and were served
hot water with our food. Weird, but it
was also chilly in Seoul that day, so okay. My sister then got a seafood jeon or Korean pancake and we were set. For our banchan, we got cabbage
kimchi, onions and some type of crunchy green vegetable, like asparagus but
more oceany. Delish.
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