Cycle 17 – Item 110

Post 5,954

25 (Sat) April 2026

King Crab – 6.35 Kilos!

2.5

from Nolbu Susan

at Jeongdong

(Garak Mall)

-Garak, Songpa, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with JW, et al.

At our prior get together in Pyeongtaek (see generally 17.096 Oven Baked Spareribs 3 Ways: Salt + Seasoning + Texas), the guys were discussing future plans for getting king crab in Seoul, so I invited myself to join and volunteered to set everything up.  I made the arrangements at Garak Mall as per standard operating procedure (see generally 13.343 King Crab and More).

The only issue was how much crab we would need.  Generally, the rule of thumb is 800 grams per person, give or take 200-300 grams depending on the male:female ratio and the amount of freebies provided.  At our prior visit, using the same vendor, same restaurant, a 3.5-kg crab was sufficient for 3 males + 3 females: 585 g/person (see generally 16.084 King Crab for Winners).  By contrast, at a restaurant in Gunsan, where no freebies were given, a 3.3 kg crab was way too little for 3 males + 1 female: 825 g/person (see for comparison 16.357 Snow Crab).  This time, with 5 males (including a few ex-military types who can eat) + 2 females, anticipating plenty of freebies, I figured around 800 g/person should do, 2 crabs at 3 kg each.  However, the vendor only had smaller crabs under 3 kg (leftovers from the winter, unacceptably lacking in meat) or larger crabs (fresh in, packed with meat) starting at 4 kg; the largest one weighed 6.35 kg.  I hadn’t realized that king crabs could get so big – couldn’t resist.

Alas, I was ultimately disappointed.  First, by the time the crab arrived – took quite awhile, as the restaurant was packed – we were already very full from all the freebies, as well as the platter of sashimi that we’d purchased, and several bowls of galbi tang that someone had ordered (there were kids at the table who didn’t eat seafood).  Second, presumably because of the crab’s enormous size, which the kitchen hadn’t accurately factored into the steam time, certain parts of the crab – especially the chunks inside the body cavity, my favorite part – were slightly undercooked.   We eventually finished, but seemed somewhat forced towards the end.

(See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See HANSIK)

(See BOOZE)