Eat Drink Style Ondal 2, Mid-City Los Angeles - The Four Acts of Ondal's Spicy Crab Soup

When it comes to avoiding wastefulness, you've got to hand it to the Koreans, over any of the ethnicities in Asia.  Each asian country has its way of using up every part of an animal or vegetable but I've noticed that the Koreans definitely shine in the double-meal category.  There's shul lung tang, a dish that is made from boiling discarded leg bones and oxtails overnight to produce a thick, white soup accompanied by various boiled meat and green onions. The meat from the bones usually graduates to a spicy beef soup or even for bbq. If you've eaten spicy korean tofu stew, soon doo boo, you'll sometimes have rice served in a stone pot, known as dol sot. After the rice is scooped out of the stone pot, water or barley tea is then added to create a makeshift 'soup'. The taste from the burnt brown rice adds a subtle char to the soup which is then in need of salt and pepper for taste.  I enjoy the burnt pieces of rice but have yet to finish a full bowl of tea soup.  I've also seen many people in restaurants, particularly males, finish up a particular stew or soup and then dump in another bowl of rice to sop up the soup. My Korean friends from high school would always do the same thing with their instant kimchi bowls... eat all the noodles, drink some soup, add rice and finish up everything – making it a double meal.

Last week, this observation on Korean 'double-mealing' has been taken to another level after my coworkers and I tried a place known for their spicy korean crab soup, kkot gae tang.   I had seen Ondal 2 many times, partly because it sticks out like a sore thumb in a pre-dominantly African American and Latino part of Mid-City Los Angeles.  And the sight of a silly looking Sanrio-style crab on the sign only makes the place more approachable.   

We walked in and were greeted by two servers.  TVs blared the latest world news in Korean.  All in an empty restaurant at 12:30.  We were handed menus and right away, my eyes went straight to the prices.  $55 for a medium sized crab soup.  I was well aware of it through some reviews on Yelp but with only three people, we had better be starving to make this even worth it.

My coworker PR was wearing a light shirt and asking for trouble.  A spicy orange soup is a force to be reckoned with especially if you still have the rest of the workday to survive. He took his placemat and constructed his own bib/napkin.  As you can see, not much real estate and straight up looks stupid haha.

Luckily, our server saw us messing around and quickly brought over some official Ondal 2 aprons.  She then stared me in the eye, closing her eyes to focus better and asked if I was Chinese.  She spoke both Korean and Chinese, and only made this a better experience for us since we could communicate.    

After munching on some side dishes, we saw our server come out of the kitchen with a large steaming pot and all three of us were stoked.  It was simply beautiful.  Four decent-sized crabs comfortably enjoying a hot tub moment.  I had never seen crabs like these, especially with the red circular markings which probably denote the crab's sex.  The server told us that these crabs are straight from Korea.  Did they come dressed in black?  I wonder if they like K-clubbing, have a singing contract, excel in online multiplayer games and binge off soju all day long.  Not that I'm profiling or anything, just saying.  

What you're about to see is not a double or triple meal, but a quadruple meal.  For us consumers, Ondal 2 is somewhat economical.  For a Korean crab, it is a nightmare that they have to relive over and over and over and over again. Imagine knowing that fate has brought you to this very restaurant on Washington Blvd.   The meal we had here really plays out like a Saw-like horror movie broken into four cruel, yet delicious acts.  And just a note, a coworker of mine has emphasized the fact that is dish is not particularly native to Korean cuisine, but more so a culinary creation that has caught people's attention.

Act 1 - The Shell

Once the pot of crabs is set down on the table, it is brought to a boil.  Our lovely mortician then takes each crab shell and begins to compile a dish that reminds me of a Brazilian favorite known as casquinha de siri.  A crab shell is hollowed out and filled with a mixture of goodies, and then baked or deep fried.  Great stuff.  This was a little different and dare I say, much better.  Here at Ondal 2, they only use female crabs so that Act 1 can exist.  The server takes the crab shell and begins to add crab roe, rice and bean sprouts into the shell.  And tops it off with a nice shot of crab-flavored soup from the hot pot.  

I'm not sure that I would feel right eating meat from an animal's skull, but this seems perfectly moral and legal to me.  The soup is really, really tasty and just full of crab flavor.  The roe was good as usual and went well with the crunch of the bean sprouts and flavored rice.  This rocked.

Act II - The Claws & Legs

The server then proceeds to make use of the handy Korean scissors.  I've grown to love the usage of scissors, especially with cutting meat.  It's the Korean version of arts & crafts time.  The soup is so spicy that any bacteria on those scissors stands no chance of proliferating.  She hacks up all the claws and legs, making the four crabs into forty various pieces.  At this point, it looks like sheer disaster.   

This particular type of crab really is something new to me.  The meat was almost more textured, and I could feel the many muscle fibers.  It was not overly sweet and very easy to pull out of the shell.  I pulled out all the claw and leg meat and ate them with soup.  Again, very tasty. 

Act III - The Broth & "Noodles"

At this point, we are getting pretty full.  We had already eaten a concoction served in a crab shell and numerous pieces of claw and leg meat.  Not to mention that the soup was also pretty damn spicy.  I was starting to break into sweat and the server seeing this, just gave us our own pitcher of water.  Good thinking.  She let out a sinister laugh when I ask her if there'll be more.  Her pupils turned red like a demon's and I knew right then not to really question her anymore.  Nevermind I asked!  She takes out all the bean sprouts and crab parts and dumps them in another bowl.  The hot pot is refilled with more stock and zuccini slices and onions are added and brought to a boil.  

Out of nowhere, she pulls out a piece of dough wrapped tightly in saran wrap.  She plays with the dough a little, giving a little tug here and there and begins to rip the dough into flat shapes of 'noodles'.  This is known as su jae bi, and somewhat similar in texture to Korean rice ovalettes.  These were pretty fun to eat.

Act IV - The Fried Rice

By now, we were way too full.  The thought of taking another bite of crab was tough but again, I saw our server back with her shenanigans.  This time with a small plate of white rice, seaweed and sesame oil.  My coworkers just shook their head in disbelief.   

The server added some sesame oil in the pot that once housed the soup, the noodles, the crab parts, crab roe and crab shell.  Then rice, seaweed and of course, crab stock, was added.  All this done at the table by the multi-tasking Korean server.  Why did I have a feeling that this would be killer? 

Do you now know what I mean by Korean 'multi-mealing'?  I think I took a few bites of this before tapping out with the ref.  We couldn't do it.  We ended up doggy-bagging the rice, soup and remaining crab parts  All of which could provide a full snack for two people.  This was good after adding more crab stock and some soy sauce.  

Whether or not the Korean tradition of 'multi-mealing' emerged from periods of poverty in Korea or simply because Koreans enjoy stuffing their faces, I find myself still thinking about this particular meal in which I, along with coworkers, really got to know these four crabs.  Inside out.  The $55 is jarring at first, but once you see how much food you get, it's quite a deal.  I highly recommend getting this medium and asking for your own paste to spice up your broth.  I'll be back here again.  I heard the steamed beef hot pot and monkfish hot pot is good as well but I don't know that I can veer away from crab.  Thanks for reading.

Hot Pot Recommendations

Medium = 3-4 people (I recommend 4 people at least)

Large = 5-6 people

X-Large = 6-8 

Ondal 2

4566 W. Washington Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA  90016

(323) 933-3228

Eat Drink Style Hot Pot. Remixed.

Winter is coming and for Jeni and I it means one delicious thing to add to the menu: hot pot. But the problem is, she being Japanese, loves her nabemono, Japanese hot pot. Me being Chinese, I love Chinese/Mongolian style hot pot. There isn't really a difference between the cultural versions of hot pot, but rather the sauces are what makes it unique. The Chinese typically use plain water from the start, but I myself really enjoy Mongolian style hot pot because it's flavorful right from the get-go. After all, Mongolians did invent hot pot and brought it down to China, probably Sichuan (Szechuan) first. They even invented the style of food called Korean BBQ in which meat was grilled upon metals shields and open fire. If you've eaten at Mon Land Hot Pot or Little Fat Sheep, then you've had this flavorful dish. The soup used for dipping/cooking is simply an awesome array of over 35+ ingredients that really creates a nice aroma throughout your house. And for us, there's nothing more homey than a hot pot meal.

So rather than push each other's button on which type of hot pot we should do, we did a little compromise. A remix basically. We both get to buy our own goodies, use our own sauces and enjoy. She likes udon, I like my bean thread vermicelli. She hates my fish cake but throw in some dumplings to make her happy. Luckily, she digs the Mongolian flavor and I like this kimchi flavor package she uses from time to time. So everyone is happy. Here's what we eat.

According to a waitress at Little Fat Sheep, she said there are over 50+ ingredients for their hot pot. Forget trying to recreate this at home and look for this brand with an imitation 'little sheep' cartoon on it. It even SAYS 'fat sheep' in Chinese too. I think this one tastes the most like Little Fat Sheep and Mon Land Hot Pot and will cost you only $1.79. They have two flavors... the one pictured above is regular and there is a spicy one. What we usually do is use the plain one for the base and add the spicy one in for kick – probably only 3-4 tablespoons are needed. I got this at the Shun Fat Supermarket on San Gabriel Blvd. & Valley Blvd. in San Gabriel. These were so good I bought like 15 packs of each flavor, walking around like I'm on that Supermarket Spree gameshow.

This is the ingredient that separates Mainland China (typically Northern) from the rest of Chinese cuisine. It's cold up there and they like food that will keep them warm inside, even numbing the mouth. These is red peppercorn powder, or as its labeled, prickly ash powder. One teaspoon of this and the packaged broth is taken to another level. It has a slight 'limey' taste on the tongue, but it's really a numbing feeling.

You can simply pour the flavor package into a pot with water and proceed to eat. But to really call it your own, you can try adding a few things. I like to add shrimp shells, 4-5 ginger slices, daikon and some garlic. Adds a real nice flavor to it all.

Here you can see the Japanese and Chinese melting pot in action. I've got my Chinese/Chiu Chow meat/fish balls and she's got her beef and fish cakes.

In Chinese hot pot, you usually eat napa cabbage, spinach and hollowed morning glory. But napa cabbage is the common denominator in our remix. Along with Japanese leeks, dumplings and usually 3 types of mushrooms including shitake, king and shimeji. King mushrooms are the best because you can cut them somewhat thick for a 'meatier' texture.

In Chinese hot pot, this is a popular condiment: Bullhead satay barbecue sauce (sa cha jiang). A potent sludge that is made with chilis, dried shrimp, small fish, shallots and oil. I cannot live without this sauce. A lot of people use this differently and I was taught by my parents to add an egg into this sauce with some soy sauce, green onions and cilantro. Some people like vinegar in it as well. Either way, everything that goes into the hot pot will be dunked in this sauce. Mmmmm.

Jeni likes these sauces. On the left you have goma dare, which is a sesame sauce. She will grind fresh sesame seeds with her mortar and add this for a nice aroma. On the right, you have ponzu, a citrus-based sauce that is as dark as soy sauce but is made with mirin, vinegar and seaweed. Both are solid sauces.

And here are a few important utensils: chopsticks and scooper to get the runaway bits.

I'm up for trying new hot pot ingredients or sauces. How do YOU hot pot? Thanks for reading.