Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu (등촌샤브칼국수): Noodle Chronicles
Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu specializes in… Shabu Kalguksu! For this visit, Annie and I were looking for a quick and comforting lunch so she decided to take me to this restaurant so that I could try a different variation of Kalguksu for the first time.
Kalguksu is a traditional Korean dish made with handmade wheat flour noodles, steaming hot broth, and other ingredients. The Korean word “Kalguksu” actually translates to “knife-cut noodles”, referring to the method of cutting the noodles by hand.
The “Shabu” aspect is a variation of Kalguksu that integrates influences from Japanese cuisine. The term “Shabu-Shabu” refers to a Japanese hot pot dish where thinly sliced meat and other vegetables are cooked in a simmering broth.
Sometime in the 20th century, Shabu Kalguksu brought together two independent cuisines into one large bowl of broth. Here, the knife-cut noodles are served alongside thin slices of meat. The noodles are thick and are allowed to bathe in the soup, while the meat is quickly dipped and swished around until lightly cooked.
At Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu, you can choose between a variety of different broths. For our visit, we opted for the Spicy broth, which was rich and flavorful. I especially enjoyed the Bokkeum-bap (볶음밥), or fried rice, that was served at the end of the meal. Even for a casual lunch, this was immensely satisfying.
Are these the best Kalguksu noodles I will ever have? Probably not. But, in terms of value, I couldn’t believe that this entire meal only costed about $10 USD for two people.
Cuisine: Korean
Average Price per Person: $5 USD / 7,000 WON (Food Only)
Address:
#202 Dae-ah First Plaza, 2nd floor, Sangmi 1-ro, Gochon-eup, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
경기 김포시 고촌읍 상미1로 2 대아퍼스트프라자 2층 202호
Recommended:
Deungchon Set (등촌 세트) comes with Vegetables (야채), Noodle Add-on (면사리), 100g of Beef (소고기), Bokkeum-bap/Fried Rice (볶음밥)
This is the dining area of Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu. It’s simple, spacious, and clean. Every table has an induction stove to keep the Shabu Kalguksu piping hot.
The Deungchon Set (등촌 세트) comes with 100g of thinly sliced beef. It was good quality and had a nice fat ratio. This cut looked like sirloin beef.
(14,000 WON for the set)
The Deungchon Set (등촌 세트) has a few options for the broth. Annie and I chose the Spicy (얼큰) option. The set has a large portion of noodles as you can see in the picture above.
Kalguksu noodles are typically wheat-based and cut by hand. You can even see how the noodles have a slightly uneven surface. Its texture is also thick and chewy, so it’s fun to eat.
(14,000 WON for the set)
At the end of the meal, the set comes with Bokkeum-bap (볶음밥), or fried rice. The staff will help prepare this in the same pan that was used to cook the Shabu Kalguksu. There’s no time to waste of flavors here. Their Bokkeum-bap also comes with a generous serving of fish roe to give the rice extra savory flavors.
The rice is also flattened along the base of the pan to create something like a crust so that when it’s all mixed together, there are little crunchy textures in each bite. It’s similar to Spanish socarrat.
(14,000 WON for the set)