Soybean Sprout Soup (Kongnamulguk) – Gyeongju, South Korea

After a long day of walking around Gyeongju taking in the sights, I was definitely tired and in need of some comfort food. It was later in the afternoon in between lunch and dinner so a lot of restaurants were not open.

Fortunately, I was able to come across this small restaurant called Market Soup (not sure if that’s translated correctly).

Definitely a small place off the main road, down a random alley, which had a handful of tables. The menu was short and sweet with just a few items. I always believe places with a small menu will have delicious food because they can specialize in just a few recipes and perfect them.

I ordered the bean sprout soup with beef and was quite content with the choice.

Bean sprout soup is a very common, beloved soup in South Korea, and is also known as a hangover cure. I hadn’t tried it yet so I was eager to give it a try.

This was a good sized bowl and it came out piping hot. The broth was outstanding. Savory with mild spice to it with sesame seed. The bean sprouts were nice and crunchy and the meat was extremely tender.

Taking some of the cubed radish kimchi and putting it in the soup added even more crunch and an extra layer of flavor to the soup base.

Served with a side of rice, this was definitely a comforting meal that really hit the spot after a long day of exploring!