Budae jjigae is delicious, but the specialist places are mostly clustered in Uijeongbu or Songtan, so getting out to eat it is not easy. Especially for someone like me who usually moves around alone, it is an awkward dish to turn up and order a single serving of. I heard that Songtan Choinejip had opened a branch in Seoul, so I went along.
A place like this
The neighborhood is near a market, so it turns out to have all sorts of good places to eat. It sits back off the street so it does not really catch the eye, but with a reputation like this I imagine plenty of people come looking for it.
The menu
The prices are fine too. There are plenty of places that do budae jjigae cheaper, of course, but if the quality of the ham drops, what good is the price?
Joongang Haejang, which I spotted on the way back
Oksu really does seem to be coming along
The takeout broth and the solids
Two servings for 20,000 won, and it was generous. At this level you could certainly call it good value. They give you the broth in a PET bottle, which makes it easy to adjust how much you use.
The cooking instructions
Well.. when I eat alone I end up boiling it up several times, so I never actually have any broth left over..
The result after boiling
Thick broth packed with good quality ham, plus plenty of sharp dadaegi and sour kimchi, so the flavor really hits you. I found myself thinking, so this is what authentic budae jjigae is.. At this price and this quality, it is a place I would want to go back to often.
Join the Discussion