Two sotbap sets at a Siheung Baegot grilled fish spot: Hwadogeuro

On a day I was originally headed somewhere else, I suddenly craved grilled fish on the way there, searched frantically, and changed course to Hwadogeuro Gan Godeungeo (화덕으로간고등어) Siheung Baegot Branch.

"Hwadeogeuro gan godeungeo" can be read two ways — "mackerel gone to the wood-fired oven" or just as one phrase — pretty clever naming, right? Haha, honestly half the reason I changed my destination was the name. I drove all the way out to Baegot for it.

Where is Hwadogeuro Gan Godeungeo in Siheung Baegot?

Hwadogeuro Gan Godeungeo Siheung Baegot Branch is at Room 217, 2nd floor, Center Plaza 2, 86 Baegot 3-ro, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Hours are 11:00–21:30 with a break time from 15:00–17:00, and the building parking lot offers 2 hours free.

The wood-fired oven you see first on the way in

Right by the entrance you can't miss a huge wood-fired oven — they actually grill the fish inside it!

I knew the restaurant name, I knew I'd come for grilled fish, but the second I saw that oven my brain just went "wait, is this a pizza place?" Haha, total brain freeze. Turns out the "wood-fired" in the name isn't just for show — the fish really gets grilled right in there, and you can watch it happening. I figured a fish-grilling place would smell strongly of fish, but I didn't notice any smell at all while eating!! Walking inside, it was spacious and clean — since when is a grilled fish restaurant this fresh-looking?

What is on the self-serve bar?

On one side of Hwadogeuro Gan Godeungeo there's a separate self-serve bar, with more seating continuing further inside.

Besides wrap vegetables and various side dishes, there were sides like japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), and zucchini pancake. The first time I went up, there were only a few pieces of zucchini pancake left, so I told myself I'd photograph it once a fresh batch came out... but I forgot because I was too busy eating, haha.

Even before the fish arrived, I was busy grabbing things one by one, haha. Rice refills are available too. On one side there were even bibimbap ingredients and sauce, so you can make yourself a bibimbap.

The two sotbap sets we ordered and what they cost

• Mackerel sotbap set — ₩17,000
• Rock cod sotbap set — ₩19,000

While we were checking out the self-serve bar, the basic side dishes and sireogi soup (dried radish greens soup) came out first. Went over to peek at the oven — my mackerel and rock cod were spinning around getting nicely grilled.

Cook faster, cook faster 🎵 — and then out came the grilled fish and sotbap (hot pot rice). With mackerel, rock cod, sotbap, sireogi soup, and side dishes all laid out, the table looked pretty hearty, right? First, a close-up shot of the mackerel and rock cod fresh off the wood-fired oven 📸

Scoop the sotbap into bowls first...

Are the wood-fired mackerel and rock cod still moist?

Scrape every last grain out to the end 😆 Pour in water and close the lid. Now let's try the grilled fish. Starting with the mackerel — dissection time.

Oh wow 😯 I really didn't expect moistness from something grilled so hard in a wood-fired oven, but my mackerel turned out completely moist and rich. Piled onto a big spoonful of rice, it was so good 😝

Let's try the rock cod too. Look at that moist boneless flesh. Do you think it's going to taste good, or not?

So moist and rich with fat it's almost like tender, soft-braised pork jowl.

Who knew rock cod could be this soft, haha. Normally I like to eat in bite-sized pieces, but this one you've got to break off in big chunks 😝

Which side dish at Hwadogeuro was the best?

Among the side dishes at Hwadogeuro Gan Godeungeo, the seasoned water dropwort was the best 🤩 Wrap vegetables are served too, so try wrapping the fish with a side dish inside 🤤

Also piled it on top of the zucchini pancake 😝 The seasoning was so good I went back for a refill!

The radish kimchi and seasoned cucumber peppers were tasty too, and I liked that none of the side dishes were overly sweet. The sireogi soup had a generous amount of dried radish greens, good for a hearty spoonful with the broth, and the flavor was clean and refreshing.

The fish had that moist richness of fat on top, best paired with a bite of water dropwort or zucchini pancake. And in between, sip the sireogi soup a few times, haha. Dipping it in wasabi soy sauce is also really good 👍

Scraping the scorched rice from the sotbap pot

Time to open the pot. Ooh 〰️ look at that color on the scorched rice 🤩

The scorched rice browned so beautifully. I noticed the bottom had crisped up nicely while scooping the rice out earlier, but after adding water and waiting to open it, the golden brown color and the toasty aroma were both perfect.

My stomach was already full, but of course I scraped it all up with a spoon anyway. From now on, please let every sotbap be exactly this good 🙏

Worth returning to for grilled fish in Siheung

A satisfying meal of wood-fired grilled mackerel and rock cod plus sotbap :) The side dishes were delicious and you can take as much as you want, so I left completely full! As the person who suddenly wanted grilled fish and changed my whole destination for it, I'm coming back very satisfied 🙂↕️