Stir-fried octopus is a classic Korean banchan (side dish). It is usually prepared with a small-sized octopus that is sliced and then fried in a flavorful combination of garlic, ginger, and gochujang chili paste, while other additions include sliced vegetables such as onions, scallions, cucumbers, chili peppers, or zucchinis.
The dish is usually served sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds and goes exceptionally well with hearty Korean soups and stews.
Korean Stir Fried Octopus | (낙지볶음 – Nakji Bokkeum)
Course: Appetizers, MainCuisine: KoreanDifficulty: Medium4
servings20
minutes20
minutes300
kcal40
minutesStir-fried octopus is a classic Korean banchan (side dish). It is usually prepared with a small-sized octopus that is sliced and then fried in a flavorful combination of garlic, ginger, and gochujang chili paste, while other additions include sliced vegetables such as onions, scallions, cucumbers, chili peppers, or zucchinis.
Ingredients
10 (550g) Small octopus
1/2 Onion
1/4 Carrot
1/2 Green onion
1 Hot green chili
1 Red Chili
100g Thin Noodle
1tbsp Rice Wine
A Bit of Salt
1tbsp Sesame Oil
A Bit of Sesame Seed
Some Vegetable Oil
- Sauce:
3tbsp Gochujang
2tbsp Red pepper Powder
2tbsp Soy Sauce
1tbsp Cooking Wine
1tbsp Minced Garlic
1tbsp Sugar
1tbsp Oligosaccharide
1tbsp Ginger Juice
A Bit of Pepper
Directions
- Turn the head of small octopus inside out and remove ink sack and other organs. Rub with salt and flour and wash in clean running water.
- Put rice wine and salt in boiling water and parboil the squid for about 10 seconds. Cut some of the larger ones into bite-sized pieces. (Parboiling prevents the squid from getting watery and keeps its tender texture. Also, adding rice wine removes the fishiness.)
- Boil some water in a pot and add thin noodles. When the water boils, add a half cup of cold water and repeat this procedure 2-3 times. Wash the noodle in cold running water to remove excess starch. Make small balls of noodles and leave on a strainer to remove water.
- Cut the onion into thick strips and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Cut spring onion, cheongyang pepper and red chili pepper sideways. Mix all the ingredients for spicy sauce in a bowl.
- Put some oil on a heated pan and add onion and spring onion. When the spring onion starts making nice aroma, add the spicy sauce, stir-fry for a few seconds and add octopus, carrot and peppers. Make sure to keep this procedure concise and quick. Add sesame seeds and sesame oil at the very end.
- Enjoy the stir-fried octopus with thin noodles. Also, try making fried rice by stirring in rice, seaweed flakes, bean sprouts, perilla leaves and cheese to leftover octopus.
