Dishin’: Soon Doo-Boo, Soon

Baby, it’s getting cold outside. Not that we need that excuse, but the nip in the air has us craving something volcanic. Time for some soon-doo-boo chigae.

Head north on 99, and you’ll start hitting some Korean restaurants at the upper reaches of the city limits. Many are mediocre, while one is great for grilled meats, but continue on to our prime pick for a special soup that’ll cure the winter blues. Destination: Hoosoonyi, where Shoreline turns into Edmonds (tucked away in a strip mall at 23830 Highway 99).

Hosoonyi does a decent job with most of its menu items, including chicken with ginseng and a couple of pan-fried mackerels, but it’s the soon-doo-boo that we like best. It comes in an earthenware pot that contains silky soft tofu stewing in a bubbling, fiery-hot red liquid. You can choose from varieties that contain beef, pork, seafood, seaweed, kimchi and mushrooms. If you please, crack open a raw egg on top to add flavor and dilute the spiciness a bit. For $8.00, you get a side of rice and, of course, an array of banchan (small plates of kimchi, spinach, bean sprouts, potato salad, and the like) to accompany the tofu soup.

Smile and put up with the sometimes so-so service. The staff might not be the warmest, but you will be before too long. We like to come with a group and sit in the tatami section, leaning back against a wall and feeling our body temperature rise. If you overheat, there’s always a bubble tea place next door. (That’s a topic for another time.)