ShinShin (신신) - Spicy Beef Stew to sweat out your frustration

신신 辛辛 (ShinShin)

서울특별시 중구 남대문로 64

02-773-4842

64 Namdaemun-ro

Jung-gu, Seoul

Naver Maps// Google Maps

"You sure? It's really spicy" She said quickly glancing at Lee and his full-scale (glittering) paleness. For a minute, I wasn't too sure myself. Could Lee really handle level 3? A level they said corresponds to 3 times the spiciness of Shin-ramen?  Then I thought why not - it would be incredibly racist of me if I didn’t subject my boyfriend to his fair share of spiciness right? Plus he did manage to eat level 2 without weeping or breaking down…

I’ve returned to 신신 (辛辛) – ShinShin (Chinese character for spicy) in myeongdong couple of times, always seeking that thrill and odd sense of release you feel after sweating through a meal. Unlike other restaurants specializing in spicy food, which sometimes I find totally lack any other flavors besides the painful burning sensation,  ShinShin’s beef stew has a good blend of flavors and delicious to eat!

If you choose to go for the spicy beef stew / 매운갈비찜 (M (35,000) for 2-3 ,  or L(45,000) for 4-5), there are 5 levels of spiciness you can choose from  (1 – equivalent to Shiramen, 2 – 3 times Shinramen , 3 – Imagine Shinramen with Extra chili flakes  + Chilies and so forth). Last time we had gone for the level 2, which was still surprisingly spicy but enjoyable for the both of us (although I admit, lee is better than lots of Koreans with spicy food).

The stew come to the table ready to eat with fresh scallions piled on top. Usually the server removed the bones from the beef and even cuts it into bite-size pieces too! I think shinshin's portions are proportionate to the price you pay, as you get a fair share of beef as well as copious amount of bean sprouts, scallions and other vegetables. I usually end up pretty full by the end of the meal (although it may be the beer we chug down as a necessity to alleviate the spiciness). The best way, in my opinion, to eat this is by making a mini sweweed-roll, radish roll (무쌈) or throw it all in roll. The owners refill the seaweed and side-dishes without a fuss so don't worry about asking for more. If you're feeling extra adventurous, you can dip the beef into the hot-sauce they give (because... well if you're going to tear up you might as well go all the way). 

By the time we're half way through our table is usually littered with beer and tissues. We usually begin fishing for beef / bean sprouts in the sea of ominously red soup and soon after Lee begins to dive into the path of self-destruction by 'attempting' to drink the soup. Despite the schadenfreude i feel watching him sweat, this is usually when I intervene and ask the owners to take the soup away and make us fried rice. 

After waiting for few minutes during which you partially regain control of your tongue nerves and begin to sweat slightly less, the fried rice arrives (with the big bowl of left over soup). The fried rice is surprisingly not spicy at all (or it may just be our numbed taste-buds) so we usually pour some of the soup back and eat it together.

Shishin is definitely one of my favourite dinner/lunch places around this neighborhood to go to. Despite being centrally located in Myeongdong, it's never really too crowded (but always occupied) and still has that sense of your secret weapon to show off to naive visitors who think they are good with spicy food.

The Aftermath

Authentic (and asian-ghetto) Chicken Stew (닭도리탕/Dak Doritang) in the back alleyways of Seoul

계림닭도리탕 - Gaerim Chicken Stew

 

서울특별시 종로구 종로3가 167 (돈화문로4길 39)

167 Jongno 3(sam)-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

google map// naver map

+82 2 2263 6658

Open MON- SAT from 11:30 ~ 22:00  (Closed on Sunday)

Chicken Stew (닭도리탕): 19,000 WON (+2,000 for noodles/ramen/rice etc.)

Drinks: Beer, Soju etc. (~3,000 WON)

Is it weird that I actively search out restaurants that have been around for longer than my parent’s lifespan never mind mine? I understand that age doesn’t always correlate to quality, but there’s something about a restaurant that’s been around for 50 plus years and stood the testament of time that promises a good meal. Especially if it’s a nitty-gritty blue-collar restaurant tucked away in the alleys of Jong-ro.

It’s been a while since I blogged, and I think this one is a good one to re-immerse myself in documenting the travels through the hidden dark alleys of Seoul spooking all those that I’ve invited to partake in this mini adventure!

The restaurant I’m writing about has been around for more than 50 years and the authenticity of the food and the history proves that it’s not some ‘number’ made up for advertisement purposes (as well as the décor and the aged patrons downing soju like it’s sprite).

The place is a little tricky to find – the easiest way is to walk out of exit 12 of Jonro-3ga (종로3가) walk straight until you see am opening along the main road to the right in between buildings (see the map below for reference!) Sneak inside the alleyway and you’ll soon find a long narrow alley parallel to the main road. Continue walking past dodgy businesses and restaurants and you’ll soon come across a bustling restaurant with a sign!

 

Although many of you think Koreans are all about the endless numbers of banchan (side-dishes), this place only gives you two – raddish kimchi (깍두기) and beansprouts. The menu doesn’t really give you any choices either. There’s couple of lunch options but at night there’s only one thing on the menu, the eponymous 닭도리탕 (Dak Doritang) for 19,000 WON. The portion should be enough for 2-3 people, as you can add 사리 (sari) in forms of either fried rice (w/ the sauce) or addition of hand-noodles. Just a little bit of history to note, 닭도리탕 is actually Japanese/Korean stemming from the word Toriniku (chicken meat). As such nowadays people tend to call it 닭볶음탕 rather than the former name. 

The place gets filled up crazy fast after 7PM and queues begin to form (even on weekdays) so make sure you come between 6-7PM if you want to be seated straight away. 

After being seated and ordering the only thing on the menu, soon the ladies bring out a beaten pot filled with horrifying (or awe-inspring) amount of garlic in a red sea of chicken, potato and rice cakes. We did worry a little when we first went that it’ll be numbingly spicy and overwhelming but surprisingly it’s hardly spicy and the garlic flavour is well balanced by the stew! It’s really odd actually knowing how much garlic went in!

After waiting for a while – you’re ready to dig in! Actually the rice-cakes (떡) received the most compliment! Unlike the generic store-bought ones you get everywhere, it had a really chewy and soft texture. Also the stew has quite a lot of chicken. Also the CHICKEN is so MOIST and TENDER! It’s often I find the chicken in seoul to be way to dry and tough… but the chicken they use here is a perfect combination of lean meat and fat that you end up sucking all the meat off each bone…

The building spiciness usually calls for soju and beer – and although I am a bonafide ‘wine-whale’, there’s something about spicy Korean food that matches beautifully with soju and cold beer. Maybe it’s the old man inside me that craves these releases of spicy no-bullshit 아저씨 food w/ soju… Personally I blame my dad for  raising his daughter to be his drinking buddy.

Anyways – this is my favourite find recently! And despite the copious bottles of soju/beer all of us were really refereshed the next day. I think the supposed super ‘health benefits’ of garlic must’ve helped….

So for those of you daring enough to venture into the back alleys of Seoul –this is definitely the place for you!

And on that note this is the end of my entry! I’m not sure who read these anymore.. but I think I’m on a roll with going to these grungy/off-the-beaten-path Korean restaurants.. if you have any recommendations or would like suggestions just let me know… (or if you also like hunting down sketchy but ridiculously yummy korean food- let’s go together cause sometimes venturing out into dark alleys alone can be a lil scary at night)