Yongin Korean restaurant for soy-marinated crab: Sotbap Hansang

Wanting to eat soy-marinated crab, I visited Sotbap Hansang (솥밥한상) in Idong-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin. I ate a female blue crab ganjang gejang set with my child, and we reached for not only the crab but also the side dishes and pot rice. During the meal, I thought it would be nice to bring my parents next time.

Where is Sotbap Hansang, and is parking convenient?

The address is 68-1 Sangdeok-ro, Idong-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin. There is a spacious private parking lot, so I felt it would be convenient for families or groups visiting together. When the original article was written, it was open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

What were the yard and dining room like for a family meal?

There was a dol hareubang statue along the path from the parking lot to the restaurant.

Following the stone path led to a well-maintained yard. I thought it would be nice to linger there over a cup of coffee after the meal when the weather was cool.

The dining room was clean and spacious, and sunlight came through the large windows, making it feel even bigger. High chairs were available not only at the entrance but also farther inside. I visited around 11:00 a.m., and customers continued coming in while we ate.

Which set did I choose, and what did my child eat?

I went to eat ganjang gejang, but the menu also caught my eye with braised beef short ribs and seasoned cockles. After some thought, I chose the female blue crab ganjang gejang set I had originally planned to order.

Before the meal, we were told to help ourselves to seaweed soup and pumpkin porridge while waiting. My child ate an entire bowl of pumpkin porridge alone—the first time they had tried it.

Baby spoons, extra bowls, and additional side dishes were available. The first round of side dishes was already filling enough, so we did not get more.

The meal came with grilled flounder, vegetable pancakes, acorn jelly, japchae, kimchi, assorted namul, garlic scapes, and other dishes alongside the ganjang gejang. The many side dishes filled the table and paired well with the crab.

The namul was savory without being heavily seasoned. The vegetable pancake was thick yet crisp, while the flounder felt closer to fried than grilled. Its flesh was tender, and my child ate it well with rice. The kimchi was fresh kimchi, and the unseasoned roasted seaweed was good with the ganjang gejang.

How were the seasoning and meat of the female blue crab ganjang gejang?

I transferred the rice from the pot, added water to prepare nurungji, and then started eating the crab. The female crab was plump with orange-colored roe.

I picked out the roe and meat and placed them on rice. The seasoning was not too salty or sweet for my taste, so I thought it would be good to eat with my parents.

I also put rice into the crab shell and mixed it. There was plenty of meat and innards, so I ended up adding a lot of rice.

I also liked eating the mixed rice on seaweed. The bitterness that can sometimes come from the innards was not very noticeable because of the salty-sweet sauce.

At the end, I topped the nurungji with kimchi. The rice was made with Shindongjin rice and corn rice, and even as nurungji, the grains still had a pleasantly springy texture.

Can you have coffee after the meal?

There was an unmanned café available after the meal. It offered several kinds of tea as well as coffee.

At first, I thought the flowers in the café were artificial, but they were all fresh flowers.

The machine also dispensed ice, so we could have iced drinks.

Why do I want to return with my parents?

I remember the pot-rice meal with ganjang gejang that was not over-seasoned for my taste, along with namul and the many side dishes. My child also enjoyed the pumpkin porridge and flounder, and the parking space and high chairs made me think of family meals. I visited with my child this time, but next time I would like to eat with my parents and spend some time in the yard.