On a very hot and humid Seoul afternoon, I tried 초계밀면 (chogye mil-myeon) at Somyeon Sanghoe, a tiny local noodle shop in Yangjae-dong. The dish arrived beneath a small mountain of frozen broth, accompanied by wheat noodles, shredded chicken, crisp vegetables and boiled eggs.
Cho-gye noodles are traditionally served in chilled chicken broth seasoned with vinegar and mustard. The name 초계 uses the Chinese characters 醋鷄: 초 refers to vinegar, while 계 means chicken. Despite a popular explanation, 계 does not mean mustard in a North Korean dialect.
The regular bowl costs ₩9,900. I ordered 곱빼기—an extra-large serving—for ₩1,000 more and added another egg for ₩1,000, bringing the total to ₩11,900. As the ice slowly melted, the sharp, refreshing broth opened up and the noodles became easier to mix. It was almost halfway between lunch and air-conditioning.
Somyeon Sanghoe (소면상회)
30 Nonhyeon-ro 31-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul
Vocabulary
- 초계밀면 (chogye mil-myeon) — chilled chicken wheat noodles
- 살얼음 (sareo-reum) — thin or partially frozen ice
- 닭고기 (dalgogi) — chicken
- 곱빼기 (gopp-paegi) — extra-large serving
- 계란 하나 (gyeran hana) — one egg
- 포장 (pojang) — takeout
Related Articles
- History of Chogyetang – Encyclopedia of Korean Culture
- What Does “Gye” in Chogye-guksu Mean? – National Institute of Korean Language
- Our articles on noodles
- Our articles on summer topics
