Daejeon braise restaurant on Yuseongdae-ro: rice in leftover sauce

Looking for a good spot in Daejeon when a seafood craving hit, I went to Seommaeul, a well-known restaurant in Yuseong-gu.

On this day I wanted something spicy and filling, so I ordered the small monkfish-octopus braise, which lets you taste monkfish and octopus together.

Parking and dining room at Seommaeul in Yuseong

There's an open lot behind the building, so parking was easy even with several people. Walking inside and seeing so many people already eating, I thought, this must be a real local favorite. The interior was clean and tidy.

I usually like agujjim (braised monkfish), but since this menu also included octopus, I was curious how it would taste.

Every one of the side dishes was tasty too.

How much food is the small monkfish-octopus braise?

Once the dish arrived, even the small size looked more generous than expected — plenty for a few people to share. Seeing the beautifully plated monkfish-octopus braise, I already knew a bowl of rice would disappear fast.

The monkfish-octopus braise had a style where the spicy sauce blended really well with the seafood. The monkfish meat was soft yet clean-tasting, and the sauce soaked in just enough to go well with rice.

The bean sprouts, which are essential in any agujjim, also matched the sauce well, adding a crunchy texture.

What the octopus tasted and felt like

I also got to try the octopus, which I was most looking forward to that day. Being able to eat chewy octopus and soft monkfish together in one dish gave a different kind of fun than regular agujjim. There's something enjoyable about picking through multiple ingredients rather than eating just one kind of seafood, so my chopsticks were busy the whole meal.

Mixing rice into the leftover braise sauce

The spicy sauce is delicious even eaten with just the seafood, but of course the real finale of any braised dish is rice. After eating a good amount of the monkfish and octopus, I added rice to the leftover sauce and mixed it all together. Just watching the sauce coat the rice evenly made my mouth water.

The spicy sauce, the bean sprouts, and the flavors from the seafood all came together with the rice, letting me enjoy every last bite. Personally, this rice-mixing finish — whether you call it fried rice or bibim rice — was the most satisfying part of the whole monkfish-octopus braise.

Why Seommaeul works for a meal out with family or friends

When you want a hearty seafood meal with family or friends in Yuseong-gu, this kind of braised dish really fits the bill. The appeal of the monkfish-octopus braise is being able to enjoy both without ordering them separately. And seafood dishes are especially fun to share when you go with a group — that day too, we picked out monkfish meat and grabbed pieces of octopus, enjoying the meal comfortably.

Thanks to the spicy sauce, it went well with rice and let us finish the meal feeling full and satisfied. If you're in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon and craving a spicy braised dish, Seommaeul, a local favorite in Yuseong-gu, is worth checking out. That day I ordered the small monkfish-octopus braise, tasted both monkfish and octopus, and finished it off by mixing rice into the sauce for a hearty ending.

It was a meal where I properly enjoyed generous seafood, spicy sauce, and the fun of mixing rice at the end. If I visit again, I'd like to try other seafood dishes here too. If you're looking for braised seafood in Daejeon or figuring out a family meal option in Yuseong-gu, try the spicy, generous monkfish-octopus braise. And especially for braised dishes, I'd really recommend mixing rice into the sauce at the end.