Koreatown: Going Raw Crab and Shrimp at Master Ha
banchan
Master Ha has been on my list of Koreatown spots I’ve want to try for a while. I tried to go last summer but was met with some trepidation over raw crab. And yet, hagfish was okay!?
abalone
The move here is to get the raw crab combo which comes with two marinated shrimp (yes, also raw). We also ordered two abalones which were so tender and perfect, These are not raw. I could go for a bowl of rice and a bunch of abalone!
marinated shrimp
I liked the marinated shrimp quite a bit. And yes, I even went for the brains. Yum, yum!
raw crab rice
Previously my experience with raw Korean crab (ganjang gejang) is sucking the soy sauced “cured” crab from the shell. We had some of this as part of our banchan (shown above) but the main event is to mix up the crab and rice and then wrap it up with dried seaweed sheets and some pickles. Despite the smallish looking amount, it was actually a good size for two.
spicy beef soup
To round out our meal, we had spicy beef soup on another chilly LA night. Be sure to mix in an egg for added protein! Though the beef was quite nice and very tender. I liked all the beansprouts in this soup, er… stew?
Raw crab might be an acquired taste but it’s an easy taste to acquire when the food is good.
Master Ha (aka HaSunSaeng)
1147 S Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90006 — (323) 998-0427 © 2019 The Minty