Pyeongyang Ok

About

A 40-year-old Seodaemun restaurant specializing in nourishing cauldron-simmered native chicken soup loaded with wild neongi mushrooms and herbs.

Tucked away in the vintage alleyways of Migeun-dong near Seodaemun Station, Pyeongyangok is a seasoned, multi-generational institution built on four decades of family tradition. Founded by a matriarch who began crafting chicken soups in her mid-twenties, the kitchen is now run alongside her children and son-in-law, maintaining the time-honored rhythm of a true neighborhood *nopo*. The restaurant's day begins in the pre-dawn hours, centering around a massive traditional cast-iron cauldron (*gamasot*). Here, chicken bones, chicken feet, and vegetable stock simmer for 24 hours alongside twenty different medicinal herbs, including milkvetch root (*hwanggi*), Siberian ginseng (*eomnamu*), jujubes, and ginseng. Kitchen staff continuously skim the surface by hand, yielding a broth that is deeply concentrated yet exceptionally clean, devoid of heavy grease. Pyeongyangok’s defining dish is the *neungi dakgomtang* (black chicken soup with wild scaly tooth mushrooms). Earthy and aromatic, the natural pine-scented mushrooms infuse the herbal broth with an umami depth. Rather than using soft factory-farmed broilers, the kitchen relies strictly on native Korean free-range chickens (*tojongdak*), known for their dense, muscular chew. Each bowl is meticulously assembled with hand-shredded pieces representing the entire bird—firm drumsticks, tender thigh meat, delicate breast slices, wings, and neck meat—offering a dynamic range of textures in a single earthenware bowl. Those seeking extra protein and a stronger mushroom punch often order the *teuk* (special) size. Beyond the soups, the essential companion dish is the *basak gamjajeon* (crisp potato pancake). Shredded fine and dyed a subtle yellow with natural gardenia water (*chijamul*), it arrives pan-fried to a chip-like crispness on the outside while staying soft within. Heartier group dining revolves around massive bubbling pots of *haesintang* (a whole-chicken and live seafood stew that requires advance reservation) and spicy braised chicken. Operating from lunch to dinner with Sunday closures, this narrow-alley hideaway delivers soulful, restorative cooking shaped by decades of patience.