A Perfect Gangnam Restaurant: Seoul Jjukkumi Jamwon Branch

On days when I’m craving something spicy, a few dishes come to mind, and one of them is this jjukkumi iron plate. There are many places that sell jjukkumi on an iron plate, but maybe because this dish is trickier than it looks, there aren’t that many places that make you think, “This is delicious. I want to come back.” The place I’m introducing today is Seoul Jjukkumi Jamwon Branch, a restaurant that can definitely be called a Gangnam favorite.

This place is tucked away in an alley near Exit 8 of Nonhyeon Station, so it’s the kind of hidden gem only people in the know visit. Since there’s the Sinsa-dong soy sauce crab alley below it, not many people come all the way up here, but among those looking for jjukkumi in Gangnam and Nonhyeon, it’s already well known.

The table was filled with dishes that looked delicious. The jjukkumi sam iron plate is tasty too, but today I somehow just wanted jjukkumi, so I ordered the jjukkumi iron plate, and there’s something familiar sitting on the side of the grill!!

I’ll explain that in a moment.

In fact, when you order the jjukkumi iron plate at Seoul Jjukkumi Jamwon Branch, it’s served at the table with only the seasoned jjukkumi and chives on top like this. It’s already plenty delicious just like this. For reference, you can choose the spice level here, from level 1 to level 3.

People often say jjukkumi iron plate dishes are tasty but too spicy, but at Gangnam favorite Seoul Jjukkumi, you can adjust the spice, so it seems to please everyone no matter who you go with.

It transformed from the original look into something even more appetizing. This is because they place the kimchi pancake served as a side dish on top, and they tell you to add it one by one at the table because it tastes better that way. They also add bean sprouts. Even though they’re side dishes, they feel less like simple sides and more like ingredients that blend with the jjukkumi iron plate and make it even more savory and flavorful!!

Once this delicious jjukkumi cooks nicely on the iron plate, wrap it in the perilla leaves and seaweed served as side dishes and eat it. So. Delicious.

Familiar flavors are usually the scariest and also the easiest to disappoint, but Seoul Jjukkumi really does not disappoint.

I think steamed eggs are one of those things you can’t leave out when eating spicy food. The steamed egg is 7,000 won, and it’s the kind of taste that doesn’t feel expensive at all.

The way the egg rises over the earthenware pot definitely makes it look even more delicious, and when you eat it, it feels soft too.

The spicy jjukkumi iron plate goes well with steamed egg, but you can’t overlook this cheonggukjang either. The cheonggukjang is also 7,000 won.

It’s thick cheonggukjang with lots of vegetables inside, so even if you just scoop up the cheonggukjang and eat it, you can enjoy a savory and mild flavor.

If you enjoyed the 12,000-won per-person iron plate jjukkumi at Seoul Jjukkumi Jamwon Branch, the dish that finishes everything off perfectly would be fried rice!!

When fried rice blends with delicious seasoning, it’s a flavor you just can’t give up. I held back from eating rice while enjoying the spicy jjukkumi just so I could eat this fried rice. Instead, the cheonggukjang and steamed egg helped mellow out the heat.