Yesan chicken stir-fry restaurant with apple slushie: Sijang

Is Yesan Market busy on a weekday afternoon?

We visited on a weekday afternoon in early September, and the place was still packed with people. Even though it wasn't the weekend, the lively, bustling vibe got me a little extra excited the moment we walked in!

Shishito pepper dakbokkeum at Sijang Dakbokkeum in Yesan Market

Of all the places, we visited Sijang Dakbokkeum, a well-known spot in Yesan Market.

They say this is the only shishito pepper dakbokkeum in the whole country, found only here at Yesan Market. Yesan is famous for its shishito peppers, right? Knowing it was a signature menu that really makes the most of a local specialty had me excited even before the first bite.

The price is ₩25,000, which might seem pricey for something inside a market, but the portion and quality were so good it actually felt like great value! The chicken was hearty and cut in big pieces, and the portion was plenty for two, so I didn't feel like I was wasting money at all haha. Honestly, thinking about how much a whole fried chicken costs at most franchises these days, this felt like a total bargain.

They also said they'll give you a free apple sparkling drink if you write a receipt review. Dakbokkeumtang with apple-ade sounded like it would go so well together. If you're visiting, don't miss this sweet event — make sure to grab your receipt review!

What comes with the apple slushie at Sijang Dakbokkeum?

They also sell an apple slushie, and it came in a cute little tube. We were so charmed the moment we saw it that we ended up ordering another one on the spot haha.

One of the great things about Yesan Market is that you can set up food from other stalls all together and eat it side by side. So on top of the dakbokkeum, we loaded up the table with pa-gireum makguksu (scallion oil cold noodles) and jeon (savory pancakes) too. Tearing off a piece of the sweet-savory-spicy chicken and wrapping it in the nutty scallion oil noodles was an absolutely insane combo... Highly, highly recommend this pairing!

A mountain of shishito peppers in the soy sauce braise

This place uses a sweet-savory soy sauce base piled generously with a mountain of green shishito peppers. The moment it arrives, that distinctive sharp aroma hits you and my mouth was watering instantly ㅠㅠ I was used to only the red-sauce version, so the soy sauce visual felt fresh and special from the start.

Honestly, I thought a soy sauce base would get boring after a while. Nope, not at all... the shishito peppers are the secret weapon. Pull off a piece of meat, top it with a single shishito pepper, and it wraps up the finish with clean spiciness. Zero gamey chicken smell, just tender and juicy. And there's a generous amount of soft rice cake inside too, which soaks up the sauce and turns out chewy and delicious ㅠㅠ

Isn't the apple slushie in the tube so cute? Whenever it started getting a bit too spicy, cooling down with the apple slushie in between let me keep eating endlessly... It was sweet, refreshing, and cold, and paired perfectly with the sweet-savory-spicy sauce ㅠㅠ If you're getting the dakbokkeum, definitely order the apple slushie alongside it. A total golden combo! It's also easy to hold and sip while walking around the market.

Packing the leftover chicken stir-fry back to the hotel

There was so much food that we ended up packing the leftovers to go... It would've been such a waste to leave that sauce behind, but they packed it up neatly in a takeout container! If you're staying at Deoksan Spa & Resom or a nearby hotel, I highly recommend packing this up before check-in! It's not a soupy stew but more of a dry stir-fry style, so there's zero risk of it leaking in the car. Getting back to the room, showering, and then cracking open a cold canned beer with this as a side dish is basically heaven... Even cold, there's no chicken smell at all, and the savory sauce flavor holds up perfectly. So, so good ㅠㅠ