3.216 Son Dubu Jeongol

3.216

8 (Wed) August 2012

Son Dubu Jeongol

3.5

at Seowon Hanwoo

-Changchon, Seowon, Hoengseong, Republic of Korea-

with the Family, Aunt T and Uncle S

Cabin Retreat (Day 3 of 4)

We spent the afternoon playing farmer on the nearby farm owned/managed by my mother’s sister and her husband.  By “playing farmer,” I mean that we watched DJ pick a few tomatoes off the vine.

Afterwards, my aunt and uncle treated us to dinner at a local restaurant.

Much more glamorous like this, at night, when the surroundings aren’t visible.

The place didn’t have much of a proper name beyond a general description of what’s on the menu: Seowon (the name of the neighborhood) Hanwoo (“Korean beef”) Jeonmunjeom (“specialty store/restaurant”).  It’s a barbecue restaurant, ostensibly.

Not sure how these local restaurants stay in business, because we always seem to be the only customers.

Instead, we ordered the son dubu jeongol, a hotpot of tofu (dubu), made here by hand (son).  The broth was seasoned with deulggae (perilla seeds), giving it a bitter earthy flavor, one that I’m not particularly fond of but W adores.  The tofu itself was exquisite, soft yet chewy, light yet rich, subtly yet unmistakably nutty.  Topped with buchu, enoki mushrooms, garlic, and ground red chili, it tasted unlike any jeongol that I’ve ever had.  Just 7,000 won per serving (the photo shows 4 servings).

The side dishes were also good.
Another unusual dish was this excellent jeon (“pancake”) consisting of ground-up soybean husks (“biji”) leftover from making tofu.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

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