Cheonan Korean restaurant chicken stew course: Sottture Dakdoritang

My regular Seongjeong-dong chicken stew stop after the gym

I already love dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken stew), but this is not simply a place I recommend because I tried it once and liked it. It is practically a regular stop I come to with a close older friend after working out. Whenever we finish exercising and wonder, “What should we eat today?” then start craving something spicy, we naturally end up here! This is Sottture Dakdoritang 🍲❤️ I especially prefer dakdoritang with the broth reduced down so the seasoning really soaks into the ingredients, rather than one with lots of broth, and this place is exactly my style.

Across from Seongjeong-dong Lotte Mart: parking and waits

It is in an alley across from Lotte Mart in Seongjeong-dong, so it is fairly easy to find. If you are driving, you can use the parking area behind the building. Even when I visited, there were quite a lot of customers at lunch and dinner, and it is popular enough to have a wait during those times ❤️ So when I want to eat at a relaxed pace, I tend to come just outside peak hours.

A spacious interior for cooking and sharing together

Once you step inside, the space is wider than you might expect. There are plenty of tables, so it is nice for friends or couples, but there are also seats for larger groups. I thought it would work well for a family meal, a get-together with friends, or a work dinner too. Since dakdoritang is something you let bubble away at the table while eating, it is especially nice for sitting around, chatting, and sharing with a group.

A self-service bar for banchan and broth

There is a self-service bar on one side where you can comfortably pick up any side dishes, small plates, and more that you need. When you are eating something spicy like dakdoritang, you need little side dishes to eat alongside it now and then, so it was convenient to take as much as we needed. Beyond the basic banchan (Korean side dishes), you can also help yourself to broth and other necessities, making it easy to use even when visiting in a group.

Add-ons and sides that go perfectly with chicken stew

The signature dish is, of course, dakdoritang! You can order a whole chicken or one and a half chickens, and there is also a good variety of sides and add-ons.

• Flat dumplings
• Potato pancake
• Rolled omelet
• Old-fashioned pork cutlet
• Ramyeon noodles
• Udon noodles
• DIY fried rice

There are quite a few things that go well with the dakdoritang. I especially like adding noodles and finishing with fried rice whenever I come here, so I ordered properly again today ❤️

What we ordered

• Whole chicken dakdoritang
• Udon noodles
• Flat dumplings
• DIY fried rice

The two of us ate, and we were honestly so full. I am the type to add all kinds of extras rather than eat just the dakdoritang from the start, so if you are visiting as a pair, a whole chicken with added noodles would be a good choice.

A whole chicken stew bubbling on a cauldron lid

Finally, the dakdoritang arrived! Rather than coming in an ordinary pot with a little broth, the dakdoritang here is served on a cauldron lid and bubbles away at the table. It looks generous from the very start. Along with the chicken, it is loaded with potatoes, mushrooms, green onions, rice cakes, and more.

And the biggest reason I love Sottture Dakdoritang! The seasoning is totally my style..❤️ It is pleasantly spicy with a clean kick, and because this is dakdoritang that you eat while reducing it down rather than simply spooning up broth, the longer it cooks, the more the seasoning soaks into every ingredient. I tend to find dakdoritang a little disappointing when there is too much broth, so I absolutely love this reduced-down style. Especially once the potatoes and rice cakes are properly seasoned… this is seriously the kind of flavor that makes you want rice 🤤

Udon noodles are a must-add

And the udon noodles I always add! Adding them to the dakdoritang sauce and cooking them down is seriously delicious. The spicy seasoning soaks right into the chewy udon, so you eat some chicken, then some noodles, then a potato, then a spoonful of broth… and you just keep eating 😂 If you love spicy food like I do, I recommend adding udon noodles.

Dip flat dumplings in the chicken stew sauce

I also ordered flat dumplings that day. They are delicious on their own, but I personally think they are best dipped in the dakdoritang sauce. When you generously dip them in that reduced-down, spicy sauce, you keep reaching for them as if you were eating bunsik (Korean snack food). They pair surprisingly well with the chicken stew, so I recommend them if you are debating which side to get!

Finish with DIY fried rice

And something I absolutely cannot pass up after dakdoritang… fried rice. The dakdoritang sauce is so good, and it would be such a waste to leave the broth behind 🥹 So we finished with DIY fried rice. Add rice to the leftover sauce and quickly stir-fry it, and somehow it still goes down even after all that chicken and those add-ons, haha. The spicy seasoning soaks beautifully into the rice, so you can enjoy the meal right through to the end. Personally, I recommend this course: dakdoritang → udon noodles → flat dumplings → fried rice ❤️