crazy for crabs

after being away for a few days, i was really craving korean food, something that usually happens when i travel. this time i wanted to try the spicy crab soup (ggot-gae-tang) at ondal. ( don't worry. if you can't speak korean, you can point to the picture above the register.)

they had a nice selection of ban chan (side dishes). everything was very fresh. but my favorite part was when they brought out the spicy crab soup. everything was covered in deep orange red spices. they cut up the crab for you so it makes it easier to eat. they also top it off with lots of bean sprouts which soak up all the flavor.

you do have to have some patience when eating crabs. it's not a lot of meat, but b/c the crab was so fresh, the meat was so tender. the portions are definitely huge. however, i think my friend and i managed to eat all of the crabs except a few legs. afterwards, you can choose to have noodles, rice, or su-jae-bee (flour dumplings) to the soup. b/c we were both stuffed, i just asked them to pack it to go so that i could make it at home later. a delicious spicy leftover for tomorrow.

eating spicy crab soup always reminds me of comfort food. i remember when my mom used to make it. her soup had a bit of bean paste which added a nice salty flavor. as a kid, i would go through all of the crab, and i would have a pile of crab shells next to my plate.

at the end of the meal, they gave us shik-gae (a sweet cold rice drink) which was totally refreshing. a perfect way to end the meal.