Marinated raw crab with green chilli in a metal bowl

Photo: rawkkim · Unsplash License (Unsplash)

KVIBE IDOLS › Food guides › Korean dishes explained › 간장게장 (ganjang gejang)

🍜 Korean dishes explained

Ganjang Gejang (Soy-Marinated Raw Crab)간장게장 · ganjang gejang

What is it?

Fresh raw crab (often female blue crab with roe) cured for days in a soy-sauce brine with garlic, ginger and chilli. The silky meat and roe are so good with rice that Koreans call it bap-doduk, the "rice thief". Yangnyeom gejang is the spicy chilli-paste version.

How to eat it

  1. Squeeze the meat out of the legs with your fingers or teeth.
  2. Put rice into the top shell with the roe and mix — the best bite.
  3. Wrap with seaweed (gim) if offered.
Typical price
₩30,000–50,000+ per set
How to order · Say it in Korean간장게장 정식 2인분 주세요.Ganjang gejang jeongsik i-inbun juseyo.Soy-crab set meal for two, please.

Where to try it

Neon-lit restaurant alley in Euljiro, SeoulSeoul's oldest restaurants (Jongno & Euljiro)Eat at Seoul's oldest restaurants: Imun Seolnongtang (since 1904), Cheongjinok haejangguk (1937), Jinokhwa dak…Seafood stew with octopus, crab and shellfish on Jeju IslandJeju seafood: abalone and haenyeo housesJeju seafood on the east coast: abalone hot-stone rice at Myeongjin Jeonbok and abalone porridge at Ojo Haenye…Pastry snack stall inside Myeongdong Station, SeoulKorean food trends 2026: what's hot nowWhat's trending in Korean food in 2026: the Dubai chewy cookie, bakery pilgrimages, gimbap's global boom, Buld…

FAQ

Is the crab raw?

Yes, it is cured in brine but not cooked — skip it if you avoid raw seafood.

Why "rice thief"?

Because it is so salty-savoury that the rice "disappears" — you keep ordering more.

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