Cheonan chicken stew with two ramen noodle add-ons: Sottture

It's been so long since the whole family got together on a Saturday!

These days my younger brother works in another region during the week and only comes home briefly on weekends. When we lived together every day I never thought about it, but now that we're apart and only meet occasionally, it feels warm and nostalgic and I miss him. So off we went to eat the chicken stew he loves!

Where is Sottture Dakdoritang in Cheonan, and is there parking?

Sottture Dakdoritang is located in Seongjeong-dong, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan — in the Seongjeong-dong restaurant alley! I'd never been to this area before, and wow, it was packed in the evening. But you don't need to worry about parking.

There's a large dedicated parking lot behind the building!

Saturday 6pm: any wait, and how ordering works

We got there around 6pm and there was no wait! (Way more delivery orders than dine-in waits, apparently.) Once we sat down, a very no-nonsense staff member brought side dishes, small plates, a ladle, and tongs.

You just order through the T-order tablet! Payment happens after you finish eating, on your way out.

Sottture Dakdoritang menu and what four people ordered

The Sottture Dakdoritang menu is simple: just a whole chicken stew or one-and-a-half portions, no spice level to choose. There were four of us, so we ordered one whole chicken stew, two ramen noodle add-ons, one fried rice, and a cheese add-on!

There was a sign on the wall telling us how to eat it right — it said make sure to have the ramen noodles and fried rice, so haha, of course we did.

And here it is — the chicken stew makes its entrance! It came out within about 10 minutes of waiting.

The ramen noodles came already cooked in with the stew! They were boiled just right — I almost just slurped up the noodles alone, haha, true story.

And then the thing that really caught our eye — this place's signature (??) haha — a cute egg chicken decoration! What an idea, seriously, haha. It made things fun before we even started eating. I kind of want to try making one at home too, haha.

Eating order, from rice cake to drumstick, and the broth

The chicken stew at Sottture seems to come out about 80% cooked. After it's been boiling for about 3 minutes, they told us to eat in this order: rice cake > vegetables > wings > breast > drumstick — because that's the order things finish cooking! It's a cauldron lid pot, but it boils surprisingly fast, which I loved.

Curious before it fully boiled, I tasted a spoonful of the broth — and it hit right at the sweet-tooth spot my dad and I share! (This broth felt like it could make tteokbokki, chicken stew, stir-fried pork, anything taste amazing.) Even my mom, who doesn't usually like sweet-leaning sauces, said it was delicious, so this place has officially become a favorite for all of us.

How to describe it... like a mild yeopdduk (spicy tteokbokki)-style sauce with the heavy chili flakes toned down, mixed with a delicious jeyuk (spicy pork) broth, all simmered together?

Anyway! Once we tasted it, it was just plain delicious, haha!

The rice cakes were chewy wheat rice cakes, and there were potatoes in there too.

The wings were bigger than I expected, which surprised me.

By the time we got to the drumsticks—

Two ramen noodle add-ons at the broth self-serve bar

As the broth gradually reduced, the seasoning got richer. That's when — if you go up to the counter—

There's a kettle of chicken stew broth there. We poured in a bit more broth and added the ramen noodles we'd ordered earlier.

Two servings!

Now I get why they recommended the ramen noodles — so good, haha. They went perfectly with the sauce, and there's clearly a noodle master somewhere in that kitchen because they were boiled exactly right — the best!

Cheese on the self-cooked fried rice

And finally, we ordered the self-cooked fried rice with a cheese add-on! Scoop out as much of the sauce as you can into an empty bowl, and when they bring the fried rice ingredients, dump it all in at once, haha!

And you know the drill — mix it well, spread it out flat, and press down. Then when you get that feeling that the bottom has crisped up a bit—

Pile on the cheese generously!

Yesss — the thrilling wait for it to melt.

Ahhh, a flavor you already know is the scariest kind.

It was SO good... the fried rice was the best. I think I'll go back just for the fried rice, honestly... we should have ordered one ramen and two fried rice instead, ugh, haha.

Eating through all these stages really fills you up.

Free ice cream bar to finish the meal

There's an ice cream station that's hard to resist. Three flavors: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.

Back in elementary school, there used to be a lady selling this exact kind of ice cream at field day events! Seeing it again after like 20 years made me so nostalgic that I scooped up as much as I used to want as a kid, carrying that memory with every bite, haha.

I'll leave you with a photo of my brother's ice cream — he scooped the prettiest one! Hehe.

Is Sottture Dakdoritang worth going back to?

We walked in while it was still light out and by the time we finished the whole chicken stew course, it was pitch dark outside, haha. Personally I always thought a proper chicken stew meal would run at least ₩70,000, like a whole chicken soup, so I'm so glad I found this place (and the fried rice is really that good...). I'd definitely go back!

They accept the Cheonan Love Card, for reference — enjoy your meal!