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마라탕ma·ra·tang · Malatang
A numbing, spicy Sichuan soup you build yourself. Pick the ingredients from a cold case and hand over the bowl.
리뷰Reviews
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것The deal
마라탕 (ma·ra·tang) is a bowl of soup from Sichuan with 마라 (ma·ra), numbing pepper and chilli heat, over whatever you picked from the cold case: vegetables, tofu, ham or sausage, more or less of each. The Korea Consumer Agency's test of 20 franchise brands (reported 11 August 2026) describes it that way, a custom bowl cooked to order, and found the bowls it bought ranged from 842 g to 1,945 g.
More about it
The salt is the catch. The agency measured an average 5,380 mg of sodium a bowl, 2.7 times the daily reference, and 976 kcal; eating the solids and leaving the broth cut the sodium by about two thirds. Eight of the 20 brands gave no allergen information, and four add peanut sauce in the kitchen.
The flavour has leaked into everything. Weekly Kyunghyang (24 February 2025) found 마라떡볶이 at the tteokbokki shop, 마라찜닭 at the chicken-stew place and 마라아귀찜 at the monkfish place, and Xinhua's Seoul report (6 February 2026) counts malatang and hot pot as the Chinese food young Koreans now eat as routine. It also lives on the Korean-Chinese street by Konkuk University, next to the lamb skewers (서울사랑, July 2021).
하는 법How to
Fill the bowl yourself from the case and hand it in. The agency's advice: vegetables and tofu over ham and sausage, and leave the broth. If you have a nut allergy, ask before you order; four of the chains it tested add peanut sauce and eight say nothing about allergens.
말Lines
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덜 맵게 해 주세요.
Less spicy, please.
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땅콩 소스 들어가요, 괜찮으세요?
It has peanut sauce, is that okay?
독자People
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출처Receipts
4 Receipts
- "마라탕, 건더기만 먹었는데 1일 나트륨 82% 섭취", Kyunghyang Shinmun (경향신문), reporting the Korea Consumer Agency, Aug 11, 2026Open
- 마라탕, 탕후루, 미지근한 물...'비커밍 차이니즈' 한국서도 인기, Xinhua Korean (신화통신), Feb 6, 2026Open
- [꼬다리] 마라·탕후루와 혐중, Weekly Kyunghyang (주간경향), Feb 24, 2025Open
- 서울에서 만끽하는 빨간 맛, 서울사랑 (Seoul Metropolitan Government magazine), Jul 1, 2021Open
Last checked Nov 4, 2026.
이어지는 것들Leads to
먹을것 Food and drink · 맛양꼬치YangkkochiLamb skewers turned on a rack at the table and dipped in cumin. The Korean-Chinese street by Konkuk University is where Seoul eats them, with Tsingtao.오늘 올라옴 up today
먹을것 Food and drink · 맛탕후루TanghuluFruit on a skewer dipped in hard sugar. The craze of 2023 whose biggest chain had lost most of its sales by 2026.오늘 올라옴 up today
먹을것 Food and drink · 맛떡볶이TteokbokkiRice cake sticks in red chilli sauce with fish cake. The street snack, sold hot from a pan.오늘 올라옴 up today
동네 Neighborhoods · 길홍대HongdaeThe streets around Hongik University in Mapo-gu, west of the river. Busking, clubs, photo booths and shops, with three rail lines meeting under one station.
동네 Neighborhoods · 길성수동Seongsu-dongThe old shoe-factory district east of the river, now the place brands open first and close fast. Seongsu station on line 2 for the shops, Seoul Forest station for the park.
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