Eating ganjang gejang in Korea: your first crab meal

Compare soy-marinated and spicy crab, and choose a meal with rice. From taking out the meat to choosing a cooked dish when avoiding raw crab, this guide covers your first gejang meal.

Eating ganjang gejang in Korea: your first crab meal

Ganjang gejang, photographed in 2019.

For your first gejang meal, think of the crab and a bowl of rice together. Take out a little crab meat, place it on the rice, and eat them together with the soy sauce or spicy seasoning. You can also mix rice inside the crab's upper shell. Knowing these two ways to eat it makes it easier to find the balance you like at the table. Start with the menu: choose between ganjang gejang and yangnyeom gejang, then look for a set meal with rice and side dishes.

Both varieties are made with raw crab. If you are avoiding raw seafood, choose a thoroughly cooked crab dish instead of gejang. The Korea Tourism Organization describes ganjang gejang as raw crab marinated in a soy-based sauce that is boiled and then cooled before the crab is added.

Soy sauce or spicy seasoning?

Ganjang gejang is crab marinated in a seasoned soy sauce. The Korea Tourism Organization describes the crab's sweet, savory flavor as a match for the salty sauce. Choose this version if you would rather focus on soy sauce and crab meat than on a chili seasoning. Some recipes still include chilies, so ask about the seasoning when ordering if you are sensitive to heat.

Yangnyeom gejang is tossed in a spicy seasoning made with ingredients such as chili powder, green onions, and garlic. The red seasoning is mixed into rice along with the crab meat, making this an option for people who enjoy spicy food. To choose between them, think of ganjang gejang as crab with the flavor of soy sauce, and yangnyeom gejang as crab and spicy seasoning to mix with rice.

The menu photos can help you settle on just one variety. If you want to share both with your companions, ask about the portions before ordering. You could also ask whether there is a combination of soy-marinated and spicy crab. For a shared meal, look at how much of each variety comes with it and choose according to everyone's tastes.

Yangnyeom gejang coated in red seasoning, photographed in 2019.

What comes with a gejang set meal?

Look for gejang jeongsik, a gejang set meal, if you want crab as a meal with rice. The name alone does not tell you exactly which rice, soup, or side dishes are included. A restaurant may offer crab on its own as well as in a set, or let you choose a size. Point to the meal you want on the menu rather than giving only the number of diners.

“Does this include rice?” and “What should we order for two people?” are useful questions. If you are eating alone, ask, “Can one person order this set meal?” Your choice will depend on whether the dish is a large plate to share or a separate meal for each diner.

If you expect to want more rice, find out how to order it. As you add a little sauce or seasoning to the rice, the first bowl may not feel like enough. Check the price of an extra bowl before ordering. If you would also like more crab, ask separately about the portion and price.

A bite of crab, a spoonful of rice

When the meal arrives, start by putting a little crab meat on the rice and eating them together. The Korea Tourism Organization introduces ganjang gejang by its nickname, “rice thief,” meaning a dish that goes especially well with rice. Crab meat and rice make a meal together; there is no need to eat lots of the salty sauce on its own.

If you are unfamiliar with holding the body and taking out the meat, ask the staff, “How do I get the crab meat out?” This is a dish you may eat with your hands, so use any utensils or gloves provided. Watch for shell fragments among the meat, and avoid swallowing them. You do not need to bite hard shells open with your teeth.

Mixing rice inside the upper shell is another often-described way to eat gejang. The Korea Tourism Organization suggests adding one or two spoonfuls of rice to the shell and mixing it with the crab's innards. It gives a different flavor from rice topped with crab meat. If you do not want the innards, you can simply eat the meat with rice. When mixing rice in the shell, add the sauce a little at a time to get the saltiness you like.

Rather than pouring soy sauce over the whole bowl at the start, add it gradually. With yangnyeom gejang, you can mix the meat you have taken out and its seasoning into the rice. If it tastes too salty or spicy, add more rice rather than more sauce. How much crab to put on each spoonful is up to you. Either variety takes time to eat as you work the meat out of the shell, so allow yourself a leisurely meal rather than fitting it into a rushed stop.

Ganjang gejang served with rice and side dishes, photographed in 2008.

Raw crab risks and cooked choices

Ganjang gejang and yangnyeom gejang carry the foodborne illness risks of eating raw seafood. Marinating crab in soy sauce or salt does not cook it or make it sterile. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that raw or undercooked seafood can cause infections from Vibrio bacteria and other germs, and recommends cooking seafood before eating it. This advice applies to everyone; avoiding raw seafood is especially important for people with underlying medical conditions, particularly liver disease.

If you want to avoid raw food, look for cooked dishes such as kkotgetang, a crab soup or stew, or steamed crab, and ask whether the crab is cooked thoroughly. Kkotgetang offers a meal with broth and rice, while steamed crab is an option for picking out the meat. When choosing a cooked meal, also ask whether any accompanying side dishes contain raw seafood.

If you avoid ingredients because of an allergy, tell the staff before ordering about the crab as well as the sauce and seasoning. Ask the kitchen about soy and wheat in the soy sauce, and about garnishes and possible cross-contact through shared utensils. Cooked crab is a choice for avoiding raw food, not an alternative for someone with a crab allergy. For more on explaining ingredient restrictions and asking about shared kitchen tools, see how to communicate food allergies in Korean restaurants.

Photo credits

• Cover photo · Ganjang-gejang 1.jpg · lazy fri13th · CC BY 2.0 · Proportionally resized and re-encoded.

• Spicy crab · Yangnyeom-gejang.jpg · lazy fri13th · CC BY 2.0 · Proportionally resized and re-encoded.

• Crab meal · Korean.cuisine-Ganjang gejang and banchan-02.jpg · LWY · CC BY 2.0 · Proportionally resized and re-encoded.

Eating ganjang gejang in Korea: your first crab meal