Nakji Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Octopus Stirfry). Spicy stir-fried octopus, called nakji-bokkeum in Korean, is loved by many Koreans. It's also one of my all-time favorite dishes. If you love spicy seafood, this is what you're looking for.
Today, I'm sharing delicious Korean Nakji Bokkeum which is Korean Spicy Stir-fried Small Octopus!
Korean small octopus, Nakji is more famous(?) for their raw dish- San Nakji.
It creates a perfect harmony out of the two things I love most, seafood and spiciness.
You can cook Nakji Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Octopus Stirfry) using 14 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you achieve that.
Ingredients of Nakji Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Octopus Stirfry)
- You need 1 pound of baby octopus, body part cut in halves, tentacles cut into groupings of 2 or 3 (make sure they've been cleaned!).
- You need 3-4 Tablespoons of gochugaru, depending on how hot you like your food.
- Prepare 2-3 Tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sweet you like your food.
- Prepare 2 Tablespoons of fish sauce.
- You need 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce.
- It's 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic.
- You need 1 Tablespoon of minced ginger.
- You need 1 of onion, peeled and cut into 1/4" slices on the vertically.
- It's 1 of medium carrot cut into 1/8" slices.
- Prepare 2 of medium stems celery, cut into 1/8" slices diagonally.
- It's 1/4 of of a small head of cabbage, cut into 1/4" strips horizontally.
- You need 2 of king oyster mushrooms, cut into 1/4" pieces diagonally (you can sub with other kinds of mushrooms - about 1 cup total).
- You need of oil.
- It's 1/4 cup of water.
You can use the same recipe with squid, octopus (larger), baby octopus (jookoomi in Korean) and shrimp. See tips below for ingredient variations. Octopus is a low-calorie food so it is believed to be good for stamina. Heat up a pan over medium high heat.
Nakji Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Octopus Stirfry) instructions
- In a bowl, mix gochugaru, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger until it's a well incorporated paste..
- Mise en place is really important for stir fry because the cooking goes fast, and you want all your ingredients handy..
- In a large wok or saute pan, bring 2 teaspoons of oil up to high heat, then stir fry the octopus *just* until all the pieces turn opaque. Set aside in a large dish or platter. No need to salt the octopus if it hasn't been rinsed of the salt from the ocean water..
- Keeping the heat on high, preheat 1 Tablespoon of oil in your wok/saute pan, and stir fry half your veg, just until they all get a bit of sear. (If this is the batch with your onions, onions *just* starting to turn translucent is a good indication of when they're ready.) Season with just a pinch of salt and set aside with the octopus..
- Repeat Step 4 with the rest of your veg..
- Keeping the heat on high, put 2 Tablespoons oil in your wok/saute pan, and add your paste right after. Give it a good stir so the oil will lightly cook the garlic and ginger and caramelize the sugar in the paste. This should only take 15 to 20 seconds..
- Keeping the heat on high, add the octopus and veg back into the wok/saute pan along with 1/4 cup water, and toss thoroughly until all the paste/sauce is well integrated with the octopus and veg. That's it! Enjoy with a bowl of steamed rice. :).
Add the squid and seasoning paste. Stir fry for a few minutes until the squid turns opaque. Nakji Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Octopus Stirfry) Nakji Bokkeum (NAHKjee BOHKm) is one of my favorite dishes from childhood. I recently moved ten minutes away from a Koreatown, so now all the ingredients are super handy for me. The truth is most of these ingredients aren't that exotic, but the baby octopus is hard to find in most places, and while.
