Soban Korean Cuisine serves a variety of dishes with bold flavors

Korean cuisine can seem intimidating. Some dishes are confounding for the uninitiated.

At Soban in Petaluma, for example, signature plates include golbaengi-muchim sea snails tossed with vegetables in a sweet-spicy vinaigrette ($25) and doenjang jjigae fermented soybean paste soup ($14).

The spice level can be merciless, with massive flurries of red pepper an integral part of many recipes. Then there’s the banchan, the colorful collection of small side dishes served with most entrées. At Soban, we’re presented with varying selections of kimchi, plus an array that might include marinated bean sprouts, pickled cucumber, fish cake, turnips with red chile, Korean spinach, crisp ueong (gobo root) and/or yeongeun (lotus root).

But Soban owners Daniel and Sarah Kim are quick to help. Chef Sarah will adjust spice levels where possible, while Daniel will explain how to enjoy the banchan, noting that we can snack on the goodies as appetizers, plop them atop rice or, best of all, nibble on them in between bites of our entrées.

Anyone who’s not ready to dive into sautéed snails can find plenty of more approachable plates like mandu pan-fried vegetable dumplings ($7), galbi-marinated short ribs in soy sesame sauce ($28) or stir-fried vegetables and tofu ($15). Indeed, Daniel confirms that the galbi is one of the bestsellers, with guests happily gnawing down to the grilled, meaty bones.

Since opening six years ago, the Kims have seen gradual changes with their diners. Given that Sonoma County doesn’t have a substantial Korean community like San Francisco or the South Bay does, recipes originally were mainly mild, as most Wine Country customers preferred.

“However, now I see more and more customers are enjoying fiery foods,” Daniel said. “I think spicy foods are just really addictive.”

So yes, I’m game, and I venture over to the spicy side with ddeokbokki, a stir fry of plump, cylindrical rice cakes and fish cakes tumbled with vegetables and a hard-boiled egg. And yes, the thick, gochujang chile-spiked sauce has me sipping my Hwayo soju for relief, grateful for the cooling powers of the crisp, vodka-like rice drink ($28).

More soju helps me through the kimchi jjigae as well, because this stew is seriously spicy ($15). The bubbling hot, rust-colored broth is stocked with good, fatty pork and organic, custard-rich tofu chunks, swirled with Korean red chile pepper and laced with plenty of kimchi. Like all of Soban’s banchan, the kimchi is homemade.

“I think a real Korean restaurant should always make their own kimchi instead of using mass-produced factory-made,” Daniel said. “That way we know exactly what’s in it and how cleanly it’s prepared, even though it takes lots of time and effort to prepare. Our kimchi is generally fermented for at least four weeks in our fridge before we serve it.”

For a gentler adventure, the seafood jeon is an excellent choice ($18). The hubcap-size, inch-thick pancake is studded with lots of chopped shrimp, scallops, squid and tender vegetables, then skillet-fried to a crisp edge and fluffy interior for dipping in sweet-tangy Korean soy sauce. Traditional jabchae, too, is delicious and simple, the slippery, translucent glass noodles stir-fried with julienne vegetables (I love the mushrooms and bitter greens) in garlic soy sauce ($12).

Even diners unfamiliar with Korean cuisine have likely heard of bibimbap and bulgogi, and the Soban kitchen does a very nice job with both. The dolsot bibimbap ($15) brings rice topped with vegetables and fried egg — the rice is crisp-seared in a sizzling stone pot, and I like to add some kimchi, gochujang and soy sauce. The bulgogi, meanwhile, is comfort food of marinated rib-eye strips grilled with shallots in sweet soy sesame sauce ($27) or, more interesting to my palate, sliced pork and onions in spicy chile marinade that soaks into the accompanying white rice ($23).

As Sonoma County navigates back to limited indoor dining, the Kims are looking forward to welcoming guests back with proper plate presentation rather than takeout containers. It does make a difference to enjoy the grilled meats on sizzling hot metal trays set on a wooden board and the soups in their steaming hot cauldrons.

The restaurant limped by through this last year with to-go orders and a handful of tables set on the front door sidewalk. It worked well enough. But really, when we’re tucking into a bowl of golbaengi-muchim, those snails should look extra special, right?

Carey Sweet is a Sebastopol-based food and restaurant writer. Read her restaurant reviews every other week in Sonoma Life. Contact her at carey@careysweet.com.