Spicy Chicken Stew (Jjimdalk)

Hiromiji - (히로미찌)
Downtown, Daegu  

Overview
The Good+ Delicious chicken stew
+ Big beers
+ Great location/atmosphere
+ + Leftovers keep on giving 
The Bad- No side dishes
- Not the cheapest K-food
Best for: Dates, groups, beer & chicken, downtown pre-meal 

Food
Despite its Japanese name, 히로미찌 specializes in a popular Korean dish known as Jjimdalk (찜닭), literally "stewed" (찜) "chicken" (닭).  The stew of Andong style (안동 찜닭) contains Coca-Cola, so don't frown on the brown.   Mixed in the spicy sauce are potatoes, leeks, onions, rice-cakes (떡) and noodles.  Here 히로미찌's trademark is extra spicy pepper (고추), so be warned.    


You can customize your dish to some degree.  Specify the three following options upon ordering:

  1.  Noodle type.  They offer thick white noodles (우동), thin clear ones (당면, pictured here), or the "special," which is a mix of both (스페셜).
  2.  Size.  Choose between "one animal" (한마리) or "one and a half animals" (한마리반).  The smaller serving (pictured here) is plenty enough for two folks.
  3.   Spiciness.  Here 찜닭 comes in three levels: smooth (순한), average (보통), and spicy (매운).  But I think more accurate descriptions would be: spicy, extremely spicy, and death, respectively.  Their hot peppers are no joke.  I consider my spice-tolerance above average, even by Korean standards, but even the medium level set my mouth ablaze.   We found that if consumed too quickly the spiciness induces an ache in the upper portion of your cranium, a condition we've termed "brain burn." 
Try boneless, or 순살 ("soon-sal") for more meaty fun.


Unearth some hidden treasures, like heart-shaped or cheese-filled (떡) rice-cakes.



Side dishes are limited to shredded lettuce and picked radish.  The latter helps counteract the spiciness should your mouth be burning.  Also help extinguish the flames with an order of rice (공기밥), for \1,000 per serving.


For drinks they serve the usual Korean alcohols, like Soju, ginseng liquor (백세주) and raspberry wine (복분자).  But for those wise in the ways of Anju (안주, matching food with alcohol), you know that a chicken dish calls for beer (맥주).  They offer a limited selection of imports, including some pricey Japanese brews, as well as the cheaper domestics.  For drafts, you have the option of a 1750ml beer tower.  Unfortunately the taps are leaky, and these days the waiters advise against them.  But as such a picturesque addition to our table we ordered it anyway.



Take home leftovers!  Just ask for 포장 주세요 ("po-jang joo-say-yo"), and pay \500 extra.  The saucy noodles alone make for great home meals.  Just fry them up with any veggies, meat and rice-cakes of your choosing.





Atmosphere

히로미찌 is an ideal dining location, with large second-floor windows (open in warmer months) over looking downtown's main meeting/drop-off center.  Bring a date or group of friends before a night out.  There are only about 14 tables, yet the place is as large as the three stores below it combined.  It's quite spacious. [Update: they moved to an even larger venue next door]  So the vibe tends to be tamer than at other Korean restaurants.  Considering the type of food, it's not smoky and greasy like a BBQ joint, nor is it crowded with rowdy Soju-drinkers.


Don't leave too much meat on the bones.  Chickenman is watching.



Location
히로미찌 is located downtown at 삼덕소방서 (Samduk Fire Station).  It's 2nd floor, above the 7/11 and former Orange Kimbap.  It's open from 11:30am to 2am.

The Address is:  대구 중구 삼덕동1가 63-11
See map



UPDATE: July, 2014.  The location switched to a larger venue, same building, same floor, just next door.  Everything seems the same except they now serve pizza.... and engage in some sort of aquatic sorcery.....






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If you've got the hots for some more chicken, also try:
  • Spicy chicken stir-fry (dalkgalbi), near the stage downtown
  • Chicken Gizzards (dalkddongjeep), at Pyunghwa Market
  • Amazing fried chicken (Wong-Ju), near the stage downtown
  • Nutritious chicken and ginseng soup (samgyetang), central downtown
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3 comments:

  1. Nice choice! However, as a fan of your blog, I'd like to throw a question here. Which do you think more tasty between Jjim dak here and one in Andong?

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    Replies
    1. Hey Tobey!
      Well the sauce here is more... interesting. And the style is similar to Andong, but spicier. For Daegu, it's pretty good.... but overall Daegu just doesn't compare to jjimdalk's birthplace in Andong. The market there is just a cool place, plus the jjimdalk seems to have meatier chunks of chicken and more veggies. Man I miss it lol.

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  2. hi i have been looking for this recipe for a while…. i tried it at my friends house and forgot to ask for the recipe… and i finally found it on your website… i have to tell you it was soooooooo goooood… now i have to try it myself… thanks for all of your recipes!!!!!!!!!!!!

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