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By Daniel Gray
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The dish has its origins in the Incheon dock area where laborers working in the construction industry wanted to enjoy cheap and hearty food after a long work day.
The soup consists of slowly cooked pork spine and potatoes topped with sesame leaves. The result is a satisfying dish that goes great with a bowl of hot rice. It was cooked throughout the day, so it then could be eaten at the end of the work day. The dish was often enjoyed with shots of chilled Korean soju.
After the first train line was built to connect the Incheon area with Seoul, one entrepreneur decided that he wanted to set up a restaurant which specialized in the dish.
The first restaurant of this type was built near Noryangjin station, near the end of the Han River railway construction. The dish became a big hit and soon many copycat establishments began popping up all over Korea.
The name "gamjatang" is a play on words.
Gamja means potatoes, but the dish isn't named after this tuber. The name refers to the pork-spine bone which is also called gamja. It is this bone that adds the flavor to the broth.
The best restaurants simmer the broth overnight until golden globules of fat appear floating on top. It is then seasoned with bean paste, chili powder, garlic, and other seasonings and boiled potatoes are added. It is then brought to the table where the cooking is finished.
The pork spine usually has some meat still attached and it is fun to pick and eat it with chopsticks. As the broth reduces, the dish gains flavor.
My favorite part of the meal is the potatoes. When they are finished cooking at the table, I like to put them in my bowl and mix in the broth, veggies and meat to make a steaming-hot mashed potato.
The unique flavor of this dish comes from the wild sesame seeds which are rounder and darker in color than regular oval sesame seeds. The seeds have an earthy, anise-like flavor that blends well with the pork broth and potato. To add a bit of green to the dish, flavorful sesame leaves and green chives are also added.
A famous area in which to enjoy this dish is Eungam-dong, which is in the northwestern part of Seoul. There is an entire street filled with these restaurants.
These days, it is a popular meal among taxi drivers. They will often visit this area because the restaurants offer free parking, car washes, clean bathrooms, free refills on rice, coffee and friendly service. If you are still hungry after eating all the soup, potatoes and meat, you can make fried rice with roasted seaweed and veggies with the broth leftover in the pot.
This dish is also a popular hangover cure, so early in the morning you can find such restaurants usually filled with people recovering from the night before.
The popularity of Gamjatang is not limited to the locals. These restaurants are very popular among tourists. There are also restaurants that specialize in this dish in the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia.
If you happen to be in Korea, this is a hearty and satisfying dish that you must try.
Daniel Lee Gray is a Korean adoptee who returned to Korea in 2004. He got his start in food by writing on his blog, Seoul Eats (www.seouleats.com). Gray now works for a Korean cooking school and a food tour company, O'ngo Food Communications (www.ongofood.com). He also owns Brew 3.14 Craft Beer and Pizza Pub in Insadong.
