Gochujang dakgalbi takeout in Gapyeong, griddled at home: Hanok

Last week I went on a summer vacation to Gapyeong in the middle of the heat wave. You know Gapyeong is famous for dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken), right? Whenever I'm in Gapyeong I always make sure to eat dakgalbi. This time, after camping one night and playing in the valley, we stopped by the Namiseom dakgalbi street on our way home.

This is the dakgalbi I ordered for takeout from Hanok Dakgalbi, a famous dakgalbi spot near Namiseom. Eating in the restaurant is great too, but the timing was awkward for us, so I called ahead to reserve takeout and picked it up. For anyone eating dakgalbi in Gapyeong who wants to eat it again at home, or anyone heading to a pension with a kitchen — takeout is a total win. It's clearly a bigger portion than eating in the restaurant, so you can eat plenty.

Hanok Dakgalbi Gapyeong Main Branch: location, parking and hours

Hanok Dakgalbi Gapyeong Main Branch (한옥닭갈비) is located at 1025 Bukhangangbyeon-ro, Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, right in front of the Namiseom ferry dock. It has its own dedicated parking lot, and hours are Mon–Fri 9:30–20:00, Sat–Sun 9:30–21:00.

Here's Hanok Dakgalbi, located right in front of the Namiseom ferry dock. The building really has that hanok (traditional Korean house) feel. There's a dedicated parking lot, so parking was super convenient, and I could feel the thoughtfulness in the ramp provided for people with disabilities or strollers.

In front of the restaurant there was a Hope Sharing Store / Vision Store sign, showing the owner's warm heart in sponsoring children. I think some people don't realize how many children in Korea go without enough meals. Hanok Dakgalbi has apparently been supporting children for quite a long time.

Why Hanok Dakgalbi takeout portions are bigger: 350g per serving

For customers heading to pensions or camping, Hanok Dakgalbi sells takeout at a great value. Hot plate dakgalbi is normally 200 grams per serving when eaten in the restaurant, but for takeout it's a whopping 350 grams. Charcoal-grilled dakgalbi (soy sauce flavor) is ₩40,000 per kilogram, which was also good split into two meals for a family of two.

You can reserve takeout by phone in advance so there's no waiting, and literally all you have to do is cook it on a hot plate — it was so, so good. It's on a completely different level from the retort-pouch products sold in stores. On top of that, they packed in plenty of cabbage and vegetables, which I loved since I like eating dakgalbi with crunchy cabbage.

They pack it like this, generously loaded with ice packs in an insulated bag. Since it's domestic Korean chicken, you can eat it with peace of mind. I had called in my order ahead of time, so I picked it up right away with no waiting.

As soon as I got home, I pulled out the griddle. Take out the packed dakgalbi and vegetables, put them on the heated griddle, stir gently, and that's it. It's amazing how convenient the world has become for housewives like me who can't cook.

Gochujang dakgalbi, 2 servings (700g) on a home griddle: enough for a family of 3

I took out 2 servings of gochujang dakgalbi from Hanok Dakgalbi, and it came out to a whopping 700 grams — our family of 3 ate until we were really full and still had leftovers. So we ate the rest as lunchboxes the next day. The portion is no joke, and it tastes exactly like eating it in the restaurant.

There was plenty of rice cake, cabbage, and perilla leaves, and a lot of sweet potato too. But most of all, the amount of chicken was really touching. Since the dakgalbi weight itself is 150 grams more than what you'd get eating in the restaurant, it was genuinely generous.

See how fresh the vegetables they packed fresh look? You can tell the cabbage is crunchy, right? I like cabbage with a bit of crunch, so I cooked the dakgalbi and sweet potato first, then added the cabbage and perilla leaves later.

Let's stir-fry this deliciously~ Tastes exactly the same as eating it in Namiseom, Gapyeong… My lunchtime was a bit awkward, so I timed my pickup for opening hours and drove home quickly before traffic got bad, and I tried it at home — and wow, it really was exactly the same taste I always have at Namiseom.

On top of that, the generous portion made it even better. There was so much dakgalbi alone that I wanted to mix in fried rice too, but I quickly gave up on that idea. I think this would be great for anyone heading to a pension to take out. When the timing is awkward, it's such a hassle to check into a pension and then go back out again. In that case, it's smart to call ahead, get takeout, and cook it right there at the pension.

I sprinkled on plenty of sesame seeds too. As you can see, it's such a generous amount that it looks like it might overflow even on a Costco-sized griddle. And this is just 2 servings.

There was a lot of soft, tender chicken meat with a moist texture, and almost no dry, tough bits. The rice cake was really chewy too, and since there was so much cabbage, I was really happy.

I've always only eaten dakgalbi in the restaurant whenever I go to Gapyeong — this was my first time taking it out and cooking it myself. But the portion is almost double compared to eating in the restaurant, it's easy to cook, and it's delicious, so I think I'll keep using takeout next time I go to Gapyeong too.