Markets in everything, northern Korea filtered through northern Virginia edition

Chung Jin Dong, 6499 Little River Turnpike, West Alexandria, 202-360-2746.

The sausage is some of the best in the area, most of all because of the vibrant fresh pepper; it also comes with stomach and liver.  Dip the pieces in the shrimp sauce.  The soup also has the knockout fresh pepper.  The menu is in Korean only and most of the staff do not speak much English.  The food is recognizably Korean, although not like any Korean food I have had.

They assure me it is real North Korean cuisine, although they assent to any question I ask them.  The owner and cook is from North Korea:

A little more than a decade ago, Ma was an undercover agent for North Korea’s Ministry of Public Security, conducting drug investigations. Her job was to bust smugglers—farmers, mostly—who were exporting opium to China.

It is not your go-to place for variety, but the quality is high and the originality is off the charts.  Anyone interested in ethnic food should visit this outlet.

For the pointer I thank Annie Lowrey.