Jagalchi Fish Market Part 2: The Shrimp That Season Themselves

Photo by Anna Waigand.

Coming from the Midwest, I didn’t always get the freshest of seafood (except for whitefish livers in Bayfield, Wisc.). But the ring of restaurants around the towering Jagalchi Fish Market in Busan offered many opportunities to get fresh seafood whether you wanted it caught that morning, raw or still alive. After being heckled by women with only the most necessary English skills, we settled on a place with English labeled pictures above the doorway. We think the restaurant is named Sharjeong Sharkkomjangeo (살청 살껌정어), but the sign isn’t totally clear.

We decided we weren’t ready to try stir-fried hagfish, but “a shrimp roasted” sounded pretty good. Our waitress placed a heavy pan with a sheet of tinfoil covered in a think layer of coarse salt on our counter-top burner. She let it heat up as she brought us some appetizers including raw conch shell.

Photo by Anna Waigand.

Neither Anna or I had eaten conch before, but Greg recommended it and our server was insistent. She dug the grey and black animals out of their shells with a tooth pick, dipped them in hot sauce and then, arm outstretched, forced them on us. See Anna’s on-the-spot video review.

Busan: Eating Raw Conch from Seoulful Adventures on Vimeo.

Then the waitress brought out two stacked plastic baskets. I was eating conch (I like it more than Anna) so I didn’t really notice that the bottom basket was filled with a dozen live shrimp that had just been pulled out of the tank outside. In one quick motion she lifted the lid of our pot, tossed in the flailing shrimp and trapped them with a firm hand on the lid. But she wasn’t quick enough. One of the shrimp managed to fling itself at Danielle and onto the floor. Not dismayed by health concerns, our waitress picked it up, cracked open the lid and tossed it right back in with it furiously struggling companions. What they don’t tell you about the old throwing a frog in boiling water story is that if you put a lid on the pot that frog can jump all it wants, but its still going to boil.

After we were able to control out laughter at what just happened, we realized the genius of this. In all their twitching, the shrimp were seasoning themselves by rolling around in the bed of salt. I think there is great potential to have other kinds of seafood season themselves by performing their death throes in beds of butter and garlic, Cajun seasoning, blackened spices and any number of things. Watch the video to see our reaction.

The Shrimp That Season Themselves from Seoulful Adventures on Vimeo.

The shrimp came out perfectly cooked and amazing tasty with a simple wasabi soy sauce and spicy red sauce on the side.

Photo by Anna Waigand.

A dozen of the freshest shrimp you can get, raw conch, and a couple Korean side dishes for four was 20,000 won. Not bad.

To find the restaurant take subway line 1 to the Nampodong or Jagalchi station. Go to the east side of the giant Jagalchi Fish Market building. It is just past the end of the building and will have English labeled pictures. Try to stay strong against all the invitations to come sit down until you have found the restaurant you want. Check out our pictures of the restaurant and two views outside it to help you find it.

You can see more photos from the restaurant here and a whole gallery of the Jagalchi Fish Market on Flickr. And if you can help in translating the name of the restaurant into English please leave us a comment. Again we think the sign said Sharjeong Sharkkomjangeo (살청 살껌정어), but here is a picture of the sign.