Pro Soy Crab

Soy-sauce marinated crabs

By Kim Da-ye

Koreans call raw crab marinated in soy sauce a “rice thief” because its salty yet delicately sweet taste stimulates appetite and a bowl of rice will be instantly finished alone with it.

Non-Koreans, however, see this dish differently. Its dark brown, raw appearance isn’t attractive as food. It can be too salty or fishy. Some may find the jelly texture too exotic. Many visitors don’t share Koreans’ enthusiasm over the dish called “ganjang gejang” here.

A few restaurants have managed to turn ganjang gejang into a true Korean gourmet delicacy, and Pro Soy Crab is one of them.

Well-marinated crabs shouldn’t be too salty, but should be full of meat — and preferably vivid-orange-colored roe. When crabs are submerged in salty soy sauce for a long time, their flesh melts away and become too salty. Using not-so-fresh crabs can result in unpleasantly fishy taste, and some restaurants try to hide the foul smell by using herbs for oriental medicine.

Pro Soy Crab, which claims to be the first restaurant to use saltwater crabs instead of their freshwater counterparts, marinates the seafood to perfection in a mild soy sauce. Because the restaurant is always busy, crabs don’t get over-marinated. Pro uses female crabs only, and the body is served cut in half oozes roe and semi-transparent flesh.

Apart from ganjang gejang, Pro serves various seafood dishes including steamed crab, spicy seafood soup and live octopus. Their prices are above average, but their tastes aren’t special. The best companion to the cold marinated crab may be the steamed egg, a large portion of whipped and boiled egg that comes for 5,000 won.

The restaurant’s exteriors, interiors and quality of the service do not really deserve the “fine dining” status. The tables and chairs are rather banal, and the interiors of the private rooms are the same.

It’s still a nice venue for business meetings and important occasions with foreign guests because of the marinated crab’s exceptional quality and its fame. The place is known for its popularity among professional baseball players — that’s where the “Pro” part of the name comes from — and celebrities. It is also a must-visit place for Japanese tourists — some Korean diners even complain its ganjang gejang has become too bland in the process of catering to the Japanese taste.

One thing you must know when you visit Pro Soy Crab is that it is located in a neighborhood full of ganjang gejang eateries and some have even copied the name. The elder sister of the Pro’s founder opened another branch nearby, and she recently lost in a seven-year-long lawsuit brought by the founder for infringing the brand name.

The building of Pro Soy Crab’s flagship restaurant in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul / Courtesy of Pro Soy Crab