Lamb skewer restaurant in Unjeong, Paju: 16 skewers, Sannaemaeul

On a clear autumn evening, craving grilled lamb skewers, I headed straight from work to a lamb skewer restaurant near Sannaemaeul in Paju. I guess I eat this maybe two or three times a year.

Grilled lamb skewers (yang kkochi) trace back to skewered lamb grilled over fire in China's Xinjiang Uyghur region. They arrived in Korea in the 1990s when ethnic Korean-Chinese (Joseonjok) settlers in the Daerim area opened their own restaurants to eat food from home, and the dish has since become mainstream.

I first tried grilled lamb at a company dinner, and I liked how clean and savory it tasted — grilling over charcoal renders out the fat, so you get to take in good quality protein.

A lamb skewer restaurant run by a chef with 40 years of experience

The owner of Sannaemaeul Yang Kkochi & Qingdao, which I visited this time, has reportedly been in the lamb skewer business for about 40 years, running a restaurant in China before coming to Korea. Maybe that's why the quality of the lamb and the charcoal were so good — I really enjoyed the meal.

The taste of grilled lamb skewers changes depending on how they're grilled over charcoal. Grilling time matters, but so does timing. If you put everything on the grill at once, the meat cools down as you eat and the flavor changes.

Given good charcoal and good meat, what matters next is skill and care in the grilling itself.

Where is Sannaemaeul Yang Kkochi & Qingdao in Unjeong, Paju?

The restaurant is on the second floor of a building near Sannaemaeul Homeplus.

Here's the entrance.

I've had Laozhou Laojiao before, and the price here looks good. Next time I come with a group, I'm thinking I should order that.

Lamb skewers at 15,000 won a serving: sauces and side dishes

Lamb skewers are ₩15,000 per serving.

It's nice to add various sauces when eating lamb skewers.

The side dishes and sauces come out neatly arranged.

Grilling 16 skewers for two over charcoal

The charcoal is really good here.

For grilled lamb skewers over charcoal, the charcoal itself really needs to be good.

That's 2 servings, 16 skewers.

The quality was so good I just stared at it for a while.

Let's calmly put them on the grill.

This waiting time is precious.

Let's try mixing up a sauce.

The complimentary bean sprout salad

The bean sprout salad that came as a service item was really delicious.

Eating it together with the lamb skewers brought the flavor even more to life. This lamb skewer restaurant in Sannaemaeul was truly serving delicious, high-quality lamb skewers. I strongly recommend it.

Useful info: where grilled lamb skewers come from

The original form of lamb skewers is a halal dish eaten by Uyghurs and other Muslims in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, originally called 'chuan (串)'. In China, it started as a dish Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang made with lamb, and as it spread across the country, it became a popular street food made with various ingredients in places like Beijing and Shenyang. (Wikipedia)

It later spread to the ethnic Korean-Chinese (Joseonjok) community as well. As this Xinjiang minority specialty dish spread throughout China, it kept transforming as it combined with the food cultures of various regions and ethnic groups. In Yanbian in particular, it merged with Joseonjok food culture, developing its own menu compositions, cooking tools, and sauces, creating a distinct 'Yanbian-style lamb skewer culture.' (People)

How and when lamb skewers reached Korea

• Timing: The 1990s through the early 2000s were the decisive period.
• Starting in the 1990s, Joseonjok people, who didn't have a street food culture, began eating lamb skewers indoors, and machines that automatically rotated skewers while grilling were developed during this time. (Wikipedia)
• Around 2000, prominent Yanbian lamb skewer businesses like 'Pungmu Yang Kkochi' began operating in Korea. In fact, a famous lamb skewer restaurant near Daerim Station in Seoul is said to have opened in 2001. (People)

Cause: It formed naturally as Joseonjok immigrants settled in Korea and sought food from home. As demand for hometown food grew in areas where Korean-Chinese immigrants were concentrated, Chinese restaurants opened up and the trend spread outward from these areas. It was initially sold mainly in Joseonjok-concentrated neighborhoods like Garibong-dong in Guro-gu and Jayang-dong in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, before becoming a nationwide trend in the 2010s. The 2015 tvN show SNL Korea's catchphrase 'yang kkochi-en Qingdao' (lamb skewers go with Qingdao beer) greatly contributed to its popularization. (People) (Wikipedia)

Health benefits of grilled lamb skewers

Here's a summary of lamb's nutritional characteristics.

• High-quality protein: helps build and recover muscle
• Rich in iron and zinc: at levels similar to or higher than beef, contributing to anemia prevention and immune strength
• Vitamin B12: needed for nerve function and red blood cell production
• A warming food: known in Korean traditional medicine to have a warming effect on the body, which is why it's popular in cold weather
• Unsaturated fat content: relatively lower saturated fat ratio compared to other red meats

That said, since it's grilled meat, eating it repeatedly can feel greasy and heavy, so it's widely believed in Korea to pair well with something refreshing like beer. The direct-fire grilling method itself, without deep frying or excess oil, is relatively clean, but sodium intake can rise depending on curing or sauces, so moderate portions are best. (Namu Wiki)