24si Ppyeodagwi Gamjatang 24시뼈다귀감자탕

A heap of bean sprouts covers the pork backbones and potatoes in the ppyeo-jjim (braised pork bones), and the sauce leans sweet and peppery rather than pasty with gochujang. The sprouts stay crunchy even after soaking up that sauce, and the big potato chunks take it in too. This is an old, crowded back-alley place in Hannam-dong with tables close together, and waits run long at peak hours and on weekend evenings. Gamjatang, the soup version, adds dried radish greens and perilla leaves. Mugeunji gamjatang brings aged-kimchi sourness that cuts through the meat. Glass noodles or ugeoji greens can be added, and leftover braising sauce gets fried with rice once the bones are cleared. Under bright lights, the walls are lined with celebrity signatures and traces of TV appearances.