Seonji Haejangkuk is one of those polarizing dishes that you can find in Korea. I stand convinced that the less people know what it is, the more they might like it. And people with a strong stomach who search out unique foods are in for a treat.
The secret ingredient is blood. Actually, it’s coagulated blood. That creates some nice chunky pieces that sit well in the soup. The texture is quite unique. Something akin to what you might image a meat jello with a bit of slip to it would feel like.
I am by no means an expert in how it is cooked but my cookbook says that there are some tricks to modulating the sweetness of it. At first, I thought I might like it more bitter. Yet, the restaurant over the weekend proved me wrong.
Tugari Haejangkuk in Cheonan is one of those old style places. Seonji is the first thing on the menu. It’s tucked on the other side of a building from the main street but when we walked in at 5pm after break time, there were already people sitting and waiting.
The menu was simple. I love a simple menu and my trust in the restaurant was growing. I am always a big fan of ordering the first thing on the menu. For most places, first thing has got to be good, right?
The food came fast. The simple style of the restaurant did not betray anything. The seonji was perfect. The match-up between the soup, abundance of bean sprouts and the plentiful coagulated blood was a perfect pair. The slightly sweet taste of thickened blood in the broth was spiced just right to be highly enjoyable.
Full without feeling bad, that was what my companion that day said. I could not agree more. Seonji has a reputation of being a food that is quite good for hangovers. It’s something that is supposed to be full of nutritious value. My cookbook states that it is quite low in the calorie department as well.
I can see myself coming back for sure. Maybe quite soon. There was something about the meal that left me feeling good. If you’re around in Cheonan for a bit, definitely it’s a worth a stop by. Anywhere that’s been in business since the 1970s in Korea usually has a certain flair and a way of doing things that makes their style stick out. Here, I suspect they have their seonji cook-time down to a science. If my cookbook is right, that flavor of the seonji is from a lot of time and effort to figure out the exact time it takes to taste that good.
Thanks for dropping by as always!
-Hans
Links
Kakao Maps
[KakaoMap] 투가리해장국 본점
12-12, Ilbong-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do
https://kko.to/yx-oxf0lQS
Naver Maps
[네이버 지도]
투가리해장국 본점
충남 천안시 동남구 일봉로 12-12 국일학원
https://naver.me/GpeggruO
Google Maps
Son of a Chef 
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