Dish guide · Seafood
Galchi-jorim
갈치조림
Spicy braised hairtail
Hairtail, a long silver fish, simmered in a spicy sauce with radish. It's a Jeju specialty and the star of Seoul's Namdaemun Market hairtail alley.
What it is
- The fish is braised with radish, potato or pumpkin in a red sauce, and it's served with plenty of white rice.
- Jeju also has galchi-guk, a clear hairtail soup with pumpkin and greens that's a local hangover cure, and much lighter than the braise.
- Grilled hairtail, galchi-gui, is another common order.
Styles & local versions
Gaori-jjim (braised skate)가오리찜
In Sokcho, skate is braised fresh rather than dried, so the flesh is soft. It's cooked with potato and radish in a sweet, spicy red sauce and ordered by the number of people. Save some sauce to mix with rice.
How to eat it
- 1Lift the flesh off the bones with chopsticks, then spoon the sauce over rice.
- 2Watch out for fine bones.
History
- Namdaemun Market in Seoul has a whole alley of small restaurants specializing in it, while Jeju, where hairtail is caught, is its other home.
Allergies and diet
Usually contains
- The sauce may contain anchovy stock or fish sauce.
- Gaori-jjim is skate, a fish.
Recipes differ between restaurants. If you have an allergy, always ask the staff before you order.
🗣️ Allergy card for the staff
Pick your allergy to see the sentence in Korean.
📍 Where to try it
- 🐟
Huirak Galchi 희락갈치
Market food · Namdaemun & Seoul Station, Seoul
The best-known restaurant in Namdaemun Market's galchi (cutlassfish) alley, open about 50 years. Thick pieces of cutlassfish are braised with radish in a spicy red sauce and brought to the table in a little pot, along with fluffy steamed egg and fried fish on the side.
Try: Braised cutlassfish (galchi jorim)
Short wait - 🐟
Imone Sikdang 이모네식당
Soups & stews · Sokcho Market, Abai Village & Beach
A family-run braised fish restaurant in Yeongnang-dong. Locals come for gaori-jjim, chewy skate braised in a spicy red sauce, sized by the number of diners.
Try: Braised skate
Locals' pick - 🐟
Matna Sikdang 맛나식당
Soups & stews · Seogwipo & South Coast, Jeju
A tiny morning-only shop near Seongsan Ilchulbong, famous across Korea for braised hairtail and mackerel in a dark, spicy sauce. Mix the sauce into your rice. It sells out early, so people line up before it opens. Pair it with sunrise at the crater.
Try: Galchi-jorim (spicy braised hairtail)
1 hr+ wait - 🐟
Negeori Sikdang 네거리식당
Soups & stews · Seogwipo & South Coast, Jeju
A long-running Seogwipo restaurant near Olle Market, loved for hairtail cooked two ways. Galchi-guk is a clear soup with pumpkin and hairtail, a true Jeju dish that surprises most visitors with how light it is. Galchi-jorim is the fiery braised version. It opens early, so it works for breakfast.
Try: Galchi-guk (hairtail soup)
Short wait 
Sambo Sikdang 삼보식당
Home-style meals · Seogwipo & South Coast, Jeju
An old Seogwipo restaurant, featured on Heo Young-man's food show, famous for jeonbok-ttukbaegi: a hot stone bowl of soybean-paste broth packed with abalone and shellfish. Hairtail in a spicy braise is the other big order. It opens in the morning, which makes it a satisfying first meal on the south coast.
Try: Jeonbok-ttukbaegi (hot abalone stew)
Short wait
Sources
We check every fact against at least two sources and write it in our own words. Last checked: 2026-11-04.