Kunjip

I am not a big fan of Korean food, except for the tofu soup (soon doo boo chigae). The best is still the one in Fort Lee that fellow yaokui S&G took me to, but Kunjip is a pretty close second. The standard of food in Kunjip is consistent and fairly cheap. The only problem is that the restaurant is pretty small so you usually have to wait.

My favorite is the seafood soon doo boo chigae (first picture below), it's very flavorful, the tofu is so soft and yummy. The other one I like is the budae chigae (second picture below), although it's not the most appetizing looking dish. This is served in a prisonware-looking silver pot, and the ingredients include spam (yumm!), sausage, pork belly, thin vermicelli noodles, and curly ramen noodles. It's like one of those dishes where you empty out your fridge and just throw it all into the pot (一锅熟), which is exactly how this dish came about. It started during the Korean War era, when food was scarce and people made this stew out of leftovers.


One more thing, Kunjip serves purple rice with the soup dishes. The rice tasted just like regular rice, I did some research and found out that it's rice cooked with adzuki (azuki beans), and is apparently packed with antioxidant. Purple rice is THE way forward!

Address: Kunjip, 9 W 32nd St (between 5th and Broadway), New York, NY 10001