Thursday, March 28, 2024
FOOD&DRINK

Korean shellfish restaurant 조개찜

korean shellfish

I used to hate winter. But it’s starting to grow on me. Firstly, in Korea the flats are warm with the ondol, underfloor heating. It’s so warm inside. In fact, the other day it was  minus 18 degrees outside. But it was still 23 degrees inside (and that was WITHOUT the heating ON!) Unbelievable. And secondly, winter is the season for all sorts of shellfish. And so I’m trying to expand the dishes I can make with oysters right now. Last night we went to a new shellfish restaurant that opened in our area.

We ordered a shellfish set meal. First we were given some side dishes including kimchi and tofu (below). Then we had various 조개 (jogae) clams and 가리비 (karibi) scallops which were steamed in a square steamer that fit into the middle of the table. A steamed squid and some cabbage was served with it too. There were a couple of dips –  soy sauce with wasabi and spicy chilli sauce with onions. It cost 29,000 won and was just enough for two.

I enjoyed it and the place was pretty busy – everyone probably had the same idea as us to check out the new place. But I could have done with something else after the shellfish or at least something else on the side. Perhaps some fried rice or seaweed soup. They had 주먹밥 (joomokbap) rice balls or 갈국수 (kalgugsu) noodle soup on the menu but I wasn’t in the mood for that. So when we left I didn’t feel like I had had a full meal. I was left with the impression that that kind of restaurant might be better to go to just for a snack with friends for a few drinks before going on somewhere else ….

 

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