7.131

15 (Sun) May 2016

Dongchimi Makguksu

3.5

at Dochon Makguksu

-Yanggu, Gangwon-

with the family

Children’s Day Holiday + Annual Leave, Day 11 (see previously 7.130 Makguksu).

In Seoul.  Arrived last Monday.  On extended leave to take care of various administrative matters during the week in preparation for the family’s move to the Philippines in a couple months, and to attend DJ’s baseball tournament this weekend.  Going back to Manila, by myself, tomorrow.

For lunch, same restaurant as both lunch and dinner yesterday — the place was indeed that good, but also nowhere else to eat really.

Dongchimi is a type of kimchi.  Radish, pickled with salt, seasoned with garlic and other aromatics, fermented in water.  The most traditional form of kimchi.

(To be explained in more detail in a future post, the spicy cabbage kimchi most ubiquitous today is a relatively recent development, red chili having been introduced to Korea by the Japanese in the late 1500s, napa cabbage by the Chinese in the 1700s.)

The Dongchimi Makguksu was excellent.  Chewy yet gritty buckwheat noodles.  Tangy dongchimi broth.  Subtle yet substantial, simple yet sophisticated — my kinda dish.

Come to think of it, this is very likely mul naeng myeon in its original form, before the broth got beefy and the noodles got starchy (see for comparison 4.184 The Eulmildae MNM…).