Small monkfish stew and roe fried rice in Jamsil, Seoul: Ttoksuni

Looking for a Jamsil monkfish stew spot, I ended up at Ttoksuni Agujjim — all the way through to the flying fish roe fried rice.

A day for something spicy at Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil Direct Branch

As the weather gets a little cooler these days, I find myself craving spicy food more than usual. This time too, I was in the mood for something that would really wake up my appetite, so after some thought I went out for agujjim (spicy braised monkfish stew).

Agujjim is fun to eat because of how the chewy monkfish plays off the crunchy bean sprouts — it's a solid option even for a family meal out. And best of all, pairing the spicy sauce with rice makes for a really filling meal. This time I visited Ttoksuni Agujjim Jamsil Direct Branch.

What I ordered that day was the Ttoksuni monkfish stew (small) and the flying fish roe fried rice. I'd gone in already planning to finish with the fried rice, but once the stew arrived, my priority quickly shifted to just digging in, haha.

What the spicy monkfish stew is like

The moment the food arrived, the red sauce caught my eye first. Agujjim really is a dish that grabs your appetite through looks alone. The monkfish and bean sprouts were evenly coated in sauce, so I snapped a few photos before diving right in.

I picked up a piece of monkfish with some sauce and took a bite — it was chewy yet tender. Then I tried the bean sprouts right after, and the added crunch really worked well together. When I eat agujjim, I always make a point of eating the bean sprouts along with the fish rather than just the fish alone. Eating sauce-soaked bean sprouts together with the monkfish lets you get both the spicy flavor and the crunchy texture at once, so my chopsticks just kept going back for more.

I told myself I'd eat slowly at first, but maybe because of the spicy sauce, my appetite woke right up and I kept reaching for one more bite, then another. Between the monkfish, the bean sprouts, and the sauce in between, the plate was slowly emptying before I knew it.

Craving monkfish stew in Jamsil

This time I ended up here after searching for a good monkfish stew spot in Jamsil. Jamsil has so many restaurants that choosing what to eat can be a challenge, but on a day like this when I wanted something spicy, agujjim felt like a solid choice. It's also a great dish to share and chat over with a few people, so it worked well as a family meal out too. The monkfish was chewy and the bean sprouts crunchy, so even though it's technically one dish, the texture never felt one-note, and the spicy sauce kept making me crave rice.

So while eating the stew, I kept thinking I absolutely had to finish with fried rice. Honestly, by the time I'd eaten a good amount of the stew, I was already pretty full. But you know how it is — skipping the fried rice with a dish like this just feels like something's missing, haha. In the end, I ordered the flying fish roe fried rice too.

Finishing with flying fish roe fried rice

Eaten after working through a good portion of the stew, the flying fish roe fried rice made for a perfect finish. Ending a spicy meal with rice felt satisfying, and the popping texture of the roe was fun too. I love it when flying fish roe pops between bites of rice while eating fried rice. As the rice mixed with the lingering spiciness in my mouth from the stew, it felt like a much smoother way to wrap things up.

At first I wondered if the small-size stew plus fried rice would be too much, but once I started eating, it all went down easily. A spicy meal really does feel incomplete without rice at the end. If I'd left after just the stew, it would have felt like something was missing — but finishing with the flying fish roe fried rice made it feel like a proper, complete meal.

Spicy food in Bangi-dong, Seoul

A lot of people probably look for meal spots around Bangi-dong, close to Jamsil, as well. On days like this when spicy food is calling, searching for a good monkfish stew place in Bangi-dong seems like a solid idea. Agujjim is also fun to eat with a group, each person picking out their favorite part, and being able to eat the bean sprouts alongside the monkfish makes it a well-rounded meal choice.

Best of all, being able to finish with fried rice made it easy to plan for a hearty meal right from the start. That day, the spicy sauce woke up my appetite while eating the stew, and I got to enjoy both the monkfish and the bean sprouts' textures, taking my time with it. I wasn't even that hungry to start, but as I kept eating I definitely picked up speed, haha.

Where to eat near Olympic Park

There are also probably people looking for places to eat near Olympic Park. If you're on the hunt for a good monkfish stew spot near Olympic Park, this kind of spicy agujjim dish might be worth considering too.

Especially if you're going with family or friends, sharing the agujjim and finishing with fried rice makes for a pretty filling meal. That day I had the Ttoksuni monkfish stew (small) with the flying fish roe fried rice, and without ordering a lot of extra dishes, the stew plus fried rice was more than enough.

Dipping the monkfish into the sauce was great, and the sauce-soaked bean sprouts eaten alongside it were delicious too. And finishing with the flying fish roe fried rice made the meal a lot more filling than I'd expected going in. On a day when you're craving something spicy in Jamsil, or looking for a place to comfortably eat with family, agujjim seems like a good choice.

Next time I visit, I'll plan from the start to include the fried rice and take my time with the stew a bit more. Spicy agujjim, chewy monkfish, crunchy bean sprouts, and finally the flying fish roe fried rice — eating it all this way left me full and properly satisfied my craving for something spicy. 😊