Nakji Bokkeum (Stir-fried baby octopus) How-to

By Yang Dongjun

Nakji Bokkeum is stir-fried baby octopus with various vegetables and seasonings. Sometimes people use squid in place of octopus. However, an octopus tastes best in autumn and winter and also lives near the west coast.

There is a saying, “If you feed three to four octopuses to a scraggy cow, it will soon have strength.” Octopus is a low-cholesterol, low-calorie stamina food and has been enjoyed as a health food for a long time.

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

450g (2 ¼ bodies) baby octopus
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp wheat flour
100g onion
1 ½ green/red pepper
1 red pepper
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp sesame oil

Method

1. Turn the head of the octopus inside out, remove internal organs and eyes, put salt and wheat flour into it and clean it.

2. Cut the head into 6cm-long, 1.5cm-wide and cut the legs into 6cm-long (350g).

3.  Trim & clean the onion and shred it at intervals of 1cm.
4. Wash the green/red pepper, cut it into 2cm-long and 0.3cm-thick diagonal pieces and de-seed.

5.  Blend the seasoning sauce.

6. Preheat the frying pan and oil. Stir-fry the onion for 1 minute on high heat. Add octopus and seasoning and fry for 1 minute.

7.  Add pepper and sesame oil. Fry for 20 seconds on high heat. Enjoy!