Winter Warm-Up

The How to Tofu post, the recent NYT article on tofu and our recent wintry weather all directed me to wipe the road salt off the windshield of my car and drive to Annandale. Vit Goel, roughly translated as Lighthouse Tofu & BBQ on its bright blue awning, is a cozy, country-style Korean eatery. From the honey-colored tables and wooden floors, traditional faux rice paper-covered walls and a hanoak-style facade, the restaurant strives for a down-to-earth appeal. Quick and casual, you'll be surrounded by tables crowded with Korean families and friends enjoying a no-fuss meal of soon dubu.

Avoiding the encyclopedic, leather-bound menus you’ll find at many Korean restaurants, Vit Goel sticks to the one thing it does best, soon dubu, a Korean stew made with your choice of seafood, beef or mushrooms and broth that’s usually laced with a good dollop of chili paste. Like most everything on the menu, it arrives at your table in a piping hot stone crock, bubbling with volcanic enthusiasm. I prefer the seafood version (Haemul Soon Dubu), which is dressed up with head-on shrimp, clams and oysters all nestled in meltingly-tender, silky chunks of tofu. At first taste, the stew is hot enough to induce an automatic air-sucking reaction and, if you so choose, spicy enough to make your toes tingle. For $8.50 ($7.50 at lunch), soon dubu's one-two heat and spice combo is a wallet-friendly way to warm up on a winter day. Note: When ordering your soon dubu you have the option of selecting a heat level from "White" (no spice at all) to "Spicy Spicy." Be forewarned that the cooks don't play around when they mean "Spicy" (I won't even venture a guess at what "Spicy Spicy" is like.) For most diners I recommend a "Mild" or "Medium" heat level.

The rice for your meal also arrives in a hot stone crock, from which your waitress scoops some of your rice into individual bowls, leaving the rest in the stone pot to form a brown, toasty crust. Barley tea is poured into the bowl, creating an impromptu toasted rice tea, a home-style touch that's a familiar ritual in most Korean households. Spoon the rice-tea mixture into your empty rice bowl at the end of your meal and enjoy the rice bits slurped up along with the tea as you digest your meal.

I don't give them high marks for their banchan, the traditional side dishes that come with every meal, except for the mool kimchi and the cucumber kimchi. The mool kimchi, slices of pale pickled cabbage floating in a zippy orange-red juice, is a great way to cool down your mouth between bites of soon dubu.

Other entrees range from kalbi and bulgogi, Korean barbecue dishes which tend to be on the sweet side at Vit Goel, to jukumi. The jukumi, a dish of sauteed squid and vegetables tossed with noodles in a spicy sauce, was ordered at almost all of the tables around me. All side dishes are large in size and are meant for sharing alongside your own soon dubu dish. You can probably find soon dubu on the menu at your favorite Korean joint, but Vit Goel wins my vote for best soon dubu for its down-home attitude and focus on a few dishes rather than trying to cover the whole book.

Vit Goel Tofu House
4121 Chatelain Road #100
Annanadale, VA 22003