Cheap Eats: Chodang Tofu Village

Chodang Tofu Village offers authentic Korean tofu hot pots at an affordable price.  The tofu dishes, called soon-doo-boo, are served in a traditional stone bowl so your soup stays hot and bubbly at your table.  Eating at Chodang Tofu is an art, so follow these tips to help you get the most out of your experience.

1719 W Algonquin Rd
 Mount Prospect, IL 60056

(847) 956-8638

4 stars on Yelp

Don't be turned off by the fact that Chodang is located in a strip mall.  This place is AMAZING.

Menu.  Look at all the food you get for $9.99!!!  You get to choose how spicy you want your dish.  The spiciness ranges from "white" to "very hot"... which I think is HILARIOUS.

A very simple table setting that provides the necessary utensils: wooden chopsticks and a spoon. 

Korean side dishes are provided with your meal.  Tip #1:  Those are NOT hard boiled eggs. When your soon-doo-boo arrives, immediately crack open an egg into your soup.

Seasoned bean sprouts.

Marinated beans.  The texture of the beans are soft, yet chewy.

Kimchee. 

Pickled cucumbers.

Spicy sliced vegetable root. 

Although the steam fogged up my lens, you can see that the the tofu dishes come out hot and bubbly to your table. 

Break open an egg into your bowl to cook.  Pictured: Seafood & Beef Tofu in mild.

Shrimp, clam, oyster, mussel and beef.

Seafood tofu in spicy. 

Shrimp, clam, oyster and mussel.

They definitely don't skimp on the seafood! 

I like to keep the yolk in tact for a while so it cooks to a soft boiled egg.

A side of rice is also provided with your meal.

Tip #2:  Scoop out the desired amount of rice (but not all of the rice) into the small white bowl that is provided at your table. You use the scooped out rice to eat with your tofu dish.

Tip #3:  This water is NOT for drinking!

Tip #4: Pour the water from the pitcher into the original rice bowl.  Fill up to the top.

The purpose of this is to make noo-roong-ji, burnt rice.  Tip #5:  At the end of your meal, scrap the bowl to loosen the rice from the bowl.  

Eat with the spicy root vegetable side dish if you need more flavor.

Bi-bim-nangmyun. Spicy buckwheat noodles.  I absolutely love this cold noodle dish because it's sweet, spicy, and refreshing.

The server cuts the noodles at your table so the noodles are easier to eat. 

Vinegar and spicy mustard are provided for the bi-bim-nangmyun if you want to add more flavor or spice.

Kalbee.  Korean-style marinated short ribs.

Happy eating.

xoxo
Grace