Cook-your-own kimchi jjigae in Gojan-dong, Ansan: Choburi 2-person set

I went to Choburi Kimchi Jjigae Gojan Main Branch in Gojan-dong, Ansan for some kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew). When I first saw the place, it looked so cleanly branded that I assumed it was a franchise. So I expected the strong, salty flavor typical of eating-out kimchi jjigae — but nope!

Once I actually ate it, it was completely different from what I'd expected. From the side dishes to the jjigae itself, everything tasted like it had been carefully made at home, and it was surprisingly mild yet delicious. The sungnyung (scorched rice) I had at the end was the real highlight!

Where Choburi Kimchi Jjigae Gojan Main Branch is and when it opens

• 📍 145-7 Gwangdeok3-ro, Units 111–113, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• 🚇 829m from Gojan Station Exit 2
• ⏰ Daily 11:00–21:00
• ☕ Break time 15:30–17:00
• 🕗 Last order 20:30
• 🚗 Use the public parking lot in front of the restaurant
• 💡 Free public parking on weekends and holidays
• ⚠️ Building parking not available

It's near 25-si Plaza in Gojan New Town, tucked in the alley behind the BYC building on the main road.

Not a franchise after all

Walking in, there was a big sign explaining that Choburi Kimchi Jjigae is not a franchise, contrary to what I assumed. It's been around since 2006, starting from a family recipe for kimchi jjigae from Choburi in Yongin. It said they use vegetable broth brewed fresh every morning, and their special sauce is aged for 3 days, 72 hours.

They also use 100% domestic kimchi, the core ingredient of kimchi jjigae, and premium grade-1 Korean pork. Maybe that's why, when I ate it, it felt less like the MSG-forward, punchy flavor of typical kimchi jjigae and more like homemade cooking built on the ingredients themselves.

How clean is the restaurant?

I liked the space quite a bit too. The interior was spacious with high ceilings, so it never felt cramped, and above all, the place felt very well kept and clean.

The tables and tableware were tidy, and sunlight streamed in through the windows, giving the whole place a bright feel. There was also a self-serve bar on one side for rice, side dishes and broth refills. That said, since the building is a bit old, the restroom can be somewhat worn and less clean.

They brought out buckwheat tea, side dishes, and mushrooms we got as a service perk through our Naver reservation :)

What we ordered and what it cost

We ordered the 2-person set plus the pujimi topping and two colas, coming to ₩37,000 total. At first I figured it'd be a light meal since it's just kimchi jjigae, but once the food arrived the portion was seriously huge haha.

There's an induction burner in the middle of the table, and a big pot with the base ingredients — kimchi, pork, tofu — comes out. The owner then personally added the extra ingredients on top, and with the pujimi topping added, the pot was practically overflowing!

What are the yellow mushrooms in the stew?

The first thing that caught my eye was these flower-shaped yellow and white mushrooms. At first glance you'd have no idea what they were, but they're silver ear mushrooms, and the yellow color comes from gardenia.

It was my first time seeing silver ear mushrooms in kimchi jjigae, and the yellow color made for a pretty unique look. Before cooking they're piled high on top of the pot, but as the broth boils they shrink down and soak up the kimchi jjigae broth.

Cooking the kimchi jjigae at your own table

Here, the jjigae doesn't come out already finished — you cook it yourself at the table. You start on high heat, and once it boils, turn it down to level 1–2 and let it simmer gently as you eat. Just stir it with the ladle so the meat, kimchi and tofu cook evenly.

The restaurant also recommends mixing the freshly made hotpot rice right into the jjigae. If the broth runs low you can top it up at the self-serve bar, and if you want ramyeon sari (instant noodles), you add more broth at the end and boil it in. We followed the instructions and let it bubble away. At first it looked like a mountain of raw meat, kimchi, tofu and silver ear mushrooms piled in the pot, but as it cooked everything wilted down and blended right into the broth.

Is the kimchi jjigae as salty and spicy as it looks?

And the biggest surprise here was honestly the flavor! I'll admit, since I thought it was a franchise kimchi jjigae place, I expected it to be spicy, salty, sweet — punchy in every direction. But one bite in, it was way milder than expected. That doesn't mean it was bland and flavorless though — the kimchi and pork blended together naturally into a broth that tasted like broth should.

What I personally liked most was that it wasn't a kimchi jjigae hit hard with MSG flavor. Not just the jjigae but the side dishes too — overall it felt less like eating out and more like someone had made a meal for you at home with care. It was so different from what I originally expected that it stuck with me even more.

Mixing a fried egg into the rice

A fried egg came out too — three on one plate. The yolks were runny, so we took them one at a time and ate them with the jjigae, and of course a fried egg pairs perfectly with kimchi jjigae haha.

Piling the spicy kimchi, pork, rice and runny egg all onto one spoonful made everything eat even smoother.

Freshly cooked golden gardenia pot rice

Something I personally loved here was the golden gardenia hotpot rice. Even the rice itself catches your eye with its yellowish color — it's cooked with gardenia.

What I liked most was that it wasn't rice scooped out ahead of time, but freshly cooked, warm hotpot rice. Scooping the glossy warm rice into a bowl and eating it with the jjigae felt like a full meal on its own! It said the rice used is Sindongjin rice.

The sungnyung finish steals the show

The real perk of the hotpot rice is that it doesn't end there. After scooping the rice into a bowl, you pour warm water — provided at the table for exactly this — into the pot. Leave it while you eat the jjigae, and when you open it at the end, the rice stuck to the bottom has softened and slides right off.

This warm sungnyung (scorched rice water) eaten at the very end was personally the highlight of the meal that day. We were already full from the jjigae and rice, but somehow the sungnyung still had room haha. Warm and nutty, it was the perfect mild finish after the not-too-strong jjigae.

No room left for the ramyeon sari

The instructions said to add more broth at the end and throw in ramyeon sari, so I fully planned on eating noodles too. But that didn't happen haha.

Between the 2-person set with the pujimi topping added, the hotpot rice with fried egg, and finishing off with sungnyung, we were way too full to even try the ramyeon sari. I added the pujimi topping worried the portion would be too small, but for us it really was plenty haha.

Worth it if you want kimchi jjigae that tastes like home cooking

I walked into Choburi Kimchi Jjigae in Gojan-dong, Ansan assuming it was a franchise, without much thought — and ended up liking it way more than expected. I expected the punchy, eating-out style of kimchi jjigae, but it turned out to be milder than anticipated, without a strong MSG-forward taste, and everything from the side dishes to the jjigae felt like a meal made with care at home.

Using 100% domestic kimchi and paying attention to ingredients like Korean pork and vegetable broth, it was clearly different from the kimchi jjigae I originally expected. Above all, I loved the combination of the freshly made golden gardenia hotpot rice with the sungnyung finish. The restaurant was also very clean, and the portions were generous — we walked out stuffed!

If you're in Gojan-dong, Ansan looking for kimchi jjigae that's comfortable and homemade rather than punchy, this place is worth a visit.