Hangover soup.
In Korea, it’s the tried-and-true remedy after a night of drinking.
It’s called haejangguk, which means soup to chase a hangover.
I first had the soup a few months ago in South Korea at a breakfast buffet. I wasn’t hung over (a glass or three of soju doesn’t count). There was a lavish array of some 50 food choices, but the vat of simmering reddish “Hangover” soup caught my attention.
The spicy broth was laced with cabbage, sprouts, radish and things I couldn’t identify. It tasted amazing. Not only that, the tang cleared my head and jolted me with energy.
I thought the name was a joke until I saw it on the menu board in the food court at G Mart Asian market on Highway 99 in Lynnwood. A huge bowl of hangover soup is $7.99 at Cho Dang Tofu Restaurant, the kiosk specializing in Korean food. The two other food stands, Chopsticks and Dumpling House, have Chinese and Japanese fare.
Sure, it’s easy to find an Asian eatery in Snohomish County, but there are some that aren’t as easy to find. Unless you go to Asian markets, you’ll never know these food courts exist.
And you’re missing out. The cuisine is authentic, catering to the targeted shoppers rather than the masses.
Asian markets are a wonderland of products you don’t see every day. Chicken feet. Live abalone. Humongous mushrooms. Sauces, noodles, snacks, beverages, vegetables, fruits. A sea of seaweed selections.
I love just wandering through the aisles and always try something new — even when I can’t read the labels. Same goes with the food court selections. If you always order the same thing every time you go out to eat, you are missing out.
You don’t have to order sea cucumber or sauteed squid. That’s not to say you can’t get house favorites.
In addition to hangover soup, I got barbecued beef short ribs ($15.99), tender meat grilled with kalbi sauce. It came with kimchi and other fermented side dishes that I’d always been afraid to try. That is, until I toured South Korea last November with a group of American journalists on an exchange program through the East-West Center based in Hawaii.
On the 10-day trip, I not only fell in love with Korea, I fell in love with the food. We all did. We ate like royalty, not journalists. The meals were resplendent displays of textures and tastes, covering the table like dozens of gifts wrapped in pretty colors.
Before I went on the trip, I had the misperception that, aside from bulgogi beef, most Korean dishes were just too strange and something I wouldn’t like.
I was so wrong. I liked almost everything I tried, once I got over my fear of trying new things.
At the G Mart food court, I also ordered the classics. At Dumpling House, I got fried rice, sweet-and-sour pork ($10.45) and combination chow mein ($7.49).
I ordered everything to go, and shopped at the mart while the food was cooked up fresh. When I came back 15 minutes later, I was handed two large cardboard boxes filled with about 20 nicely packed items. It was enough to feed a dozen people, even though there were only four of us.
Next time, I’ll order from the third place, Chopsticks, which specializes in udon and sushi and offers a range of other dishes, inclouding katsu and grilled mackerel.
It’s a good reason to go back to the food court for hangover soup. Maybe I’ll have a glass or three of soju the night before.
About this story
This is the first of an ongoing series about the tastes, sights and sounds ?of South Korea by Andrea Brown, who was part of a journalism fellowship program in that country with six other American journalists.
G Mart Food Court
17424 Highway 99, Lynnwood.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Speciality: Authentic Asian cuisine
Chopsticks, 425-361-2090; www.chopstickscatering.com.
Cho Dang Tofu Restaurant, 425-918-1508.
Dumpling House Chinese Food, 425-745-6642.
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