Yesan Market chicken restaurant for late-night cheese takeout: Sijang

What to eat at Yesan Market? Shishito pepper dakbokkeum (chicken stir-fry) that's better than andong jjimdak

There's so much to eat when you visit Yesan Market, right? After having meat for dinner, I was looking for something to eat as a late-night snack and picked the shishito pepper dakbokkeum from Sijang Dakbokkeum.

Honestly I'd already eaten too much dinner that day, so I didn't plan to eat much — I figured whatever was left over I'd eat the next day. But what actually happened was...... we finished the whole container haha haha haha

• Address: 2 Yesansijang-gil, Yesan-eup, Yesan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea, Unit 174
• Hours: Daily 11:00 - 20:30
• Open year-round, no closed days
• Parking: Market public parking lot
• Notes: Takeout available, dine-in possible inside Yesan Market

What to eat at Yesan Market when you can't decide

Sijang Dakbokkeum is at the end of the alley you see straight ahead from the Yesan Market plaza entrance, on the right. I think the first thing anyone looks up for a Yesan trip is Yesan Market restaurants — or is that just me?

Yesan Market especially has grown beyond just a place to eat market food, thanks to chef Baek Jong-won's involvement — it now feels like a great travel destination to visit with family.

So around 6pm on the Saturday I visited, the place was packed with families. I'd had meat for dinner at the plaza and stopped by Sijang Dakbokkeum to get a late-night snack to go, and there were plenty of families and couples here too.

The exact location of Sijang Dakbokkeum is at the end of the alley directly facing the plaza entrance, on the right side.

How Sijang Dakbokkeum compares to Andong jjimdak

Sijang Dakbokkeum has just one menu item: shishito pepper dakbokkeum. Since it's soy sauce-based, andong jjimdak (Andong-style braised chicken) came to mind first, but after tasting it, it was a bit richer and more savory than andong jjimdak.

Just one menu! Shishito pepper dakbokkeum

The only difference is whether you add extra shishito peppers or extra cheese. (There are already a lot of shishito peppers in the base dish, so I just added cheese.)

When I took it home and had my first bite, the first thing I thought of was andong jjimdak! It has a similar feel because of the soy sauce-based seasoning, but it turned out to be a bit richer and more savory than andong jjimdak.

The salty, savory secret soy sauce seasoning was well soaked into the chicken, so I thought it would also go great with rice. Rather than a plain dakbokkeum, it felt like a familiar soy sauce chicken stir-fry with the spiciness of shishito peppers added — a bit richer and spicier, if that makes sense.

Do the shishito peppers cut the richness?

What I liked most about Sijang Dakbokkeum was definitely the shishito peppers. They put in plenty of fresh Yesan shishito peppers, and eating them with the rich soy sauce dakbokkeum made for a spicier combination than I expected — in a good way.

The fragrant, spicy kick of the shishito peppers kept popping up in between bites and cut through any richness completely.

They weren't overcooked either — the shishito peppers still had some of their signature crunch, which I liked.

There was also garlic and rice cake mixed in, which made the dish feel more filling.

What adding cheese does to the dakbokkeum

I picked cheese from Sijang Dakbokkeum's add-on options. I'm honestly not usually a fan of cheese on dishes like this, but since every other customer was adding cheese, I ordered it too.

Once I tried it, the soft, nutty cheese on top of the rich soy sauce dakbokkeum made the overall flavor a lot smoother. And the cheese was so soft that it went really well with the chicken.

Why one takeout container disappeared after dinner

My husband and I finished the whole container of Sijang Dakbokkeum that night. Since we'd already had dinner, I thought we'd save the leftovers for the next day, but somehow the two of us ended up finishing the entire thing haha haha haha;;;

Chicken, then a shishito pepper, then a piece of rice cake, then a piece of garlic;;;;;; The seasoning was so good and the shishito peppers kept it from feeling too rich, so our hands just kept reaching for more without stopping;ㅠ haha.

Is Yesan Market worth a Chuseok family trip?

Sijang Dakbokkeum is open year-round, so it's open even during Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). If you're wondering what to do with family over the holiday, Yesan Market is a solid option, I think.

Chuseok holiday is coming up soon!!! Yesan Market has become known as a place with all kinds of food and things to see, making it great to visit with family. Sijang Dakbokkeum, being open year-round, will also be open during Chuseok, so I'd recommend stopping by. If you're planning a Yesan family trip for the upcoming Chuseok, consider a route like Yesan Market → Yesanghoo Lake or Splas Resom too!