Sokcho Eats | Mulhoe (물회) – Cold Spicy Seafood Soup

Most of the time when I hear about other foreigners’ experiences with “weird,” “strange” or “bizarre” Korean food” I sort of roll my eyes. Bibimbop, lettuce wrapped beef, and green onion pancakes (pajeon) are about as innocuous as it gets…plus…you can easily find those menu items in the States. It would be kind of like patting yourself on the back for going to Mexico and eating tamales or chicken molé.

On the other hand, if I saw a foreigner chowing down on some mulhoe (물회) – a local Sockcho specialty of cold and spicy seafood soup served with a side of cold noodles, I would probably raise my eyebrows with a bit of respect. I realize that for many people, eating Korean BBQ is probably going way outside their comfort zone, so baby steps, I guess. Mulhoe, on the other hand, falls way, WAY outside the Korean BBQ comfort zone, requiring a certain level of adventure (or maybe just plain ol’ curiosity). Even among Koreans it’s a dish that is either loved or hated. 

For looking at these photos and thinking any (or all) of the following:

“I could never eat that.”
“You are so brave”
“OMG you ate THAT?”
“I don’t know how you eat what you do.”
or my personal favorite:
“If I lived in Korea I would lose so much weight because I could NEVER eat any of THAT.” (Cringe.)

Let me break down the dish so it’s a little less “scary”:

• very fresh raw seafood: Somehow describing it as “sushi” or “sashimi” instead of “raw seafood” is enough to get people to relax
• noodles: like spaghetti, or noodle soup, except made out of rice. The noodles are optional.
• lettuce, seaweed, cabbage and vegetables: If anything on this list is “weird” to you then yeah, don’t even attempt the soup.
• gochujang, a spicy sauce made from peppers and soybean: think of it as Tabasco sauce
• served cold. This is the sticking point for many people, which takes this dish from a familiar seafood soup to a ‘weird seafood dish.’ So think of it kind of like a gazpacho. It’s a bit odd to think of soup as being served cold but would you want to eat raw fish in a lukewarm soup? Also, trust me on this, when it’s sweltering hot outside and there’s no A/C to be found, you will be begging for something as refreshing as a cold soup.

How about if I described it as sashimi, vegetables, and noodles in a spicy broth served chilled. Better?

Some people probably think that I’m “used to it because I’m Asian” and “eat this sort of stuff every day,” but this was actually my first time trying mulhoe. (Also, I’m not Korean, so much of the traditional food that I have tried in Korea is not familiar to me either. And no, Korean food and Viet food is not at all similar. ) Korean raw fish is not a favorite of mine in general, mostly because I prefer the texture, selection, and preparation of Japanese-style fish over Korean-style sushi, but since Sly had researched this place and was super excited to try it out, I thought I would give it a go too. Plus, I always enjoy trying local specialties that I wouldn’t be able to find (as good) elsewhere. In my opinion, it’s the best, and easiest, way to experience local culture.

I still didn’t like some of the chewier bits of fish on top, and meongge (멍게) is still hit or miss for me (though I like it a million times more than when I first tried it), but that’s ok, I tried a few bites of the so-so parts and gave the rest to Sly. I did, however, enjoy the rest of the soup. It reminded me of a Korean gazpacho with lots of fresh, briny seafood, and enough spice to keep our noses constantly dripping.

DETAILS

Bonggo Meoguri Jip | CUISINE: Korean seafood  |  COST: ~$13 for two-person serving (that’s it?!)  |  DESCRIPTION: This restaurant served basically variations of the same dish – mulhoe, or a cold and spicy seafood soup. As far as we could tell, there were no English menus, but thankfully there is a large picture menu posted outside and on the wall inside. Just do what I do and point. Worst case scenario: you’ll be brought their most popular dish, which in this case, I’m pretty sure was the combo seafood soup. Along with the soup, we received a billion sides — noodles, potatoes, potato salad, kimchi, spicy squid, spicy soy prawns, assorted pickled veggies, and some sweet and chewy bites of glutinous rice balls mixed with black beans. We split a bowl and it was a pretty good amount, even for two greedy pigs like us.  Note: this place is pretty popular and can have a long wait during peak dinner hours.  |  VERDICT: Super fresh, wonderfully spicy, and so refreshing on a hot day. I’m looking forward to trying it again.