Jjukkumi-bokkeum (Spicy Stir-Fried Baby Octopus)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide skillet or wok, 12 inches or larger
• •Large pot for quick blanching
• •Colander
• •Kitchen shears or small knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the octopus

   Turn each jjukkumi head inside out and remove the innards, ink sac, eyes, and hard beak. If there is white roe, keep it attached if it smells clean and fresh. Rub the octopus with the coarse salt and flour for 2 minutes, working between the tentacles, then rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. The flour grips the slime; the salt tightens the surface. This is not fussing. This is the difference between clean sweetness and a muddy pan.

2. 2

   Blanch briefly

   Bring 6 cups water to a boil with the 1/2 teaspoon salt and the soju or rice wine. Add the jjukkumi and blanch 20 to 30 seconds, just until the tentacles curl and the surface firms. Drain at once and rinse briefly in cold water, then pat very dry. Do not cook it through here. You are setting the shape and driving off water so the stir-fry will not turn into soup.

   If your jjukkumi are very small, closer to thumb-size, blanch only 15 seconds. A larger one can take 30. Past that, you have started cooking twice, and twice is how octopus becomes tough.
3. 3

   Mix the sauce

   In a bowl, mix the gochugaru, gochujang, soy sauce, fish sauce, maesil-cheong, rice syrup, garlic, ginger, 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil, and black pepper. Let it sit 10 minutes while you cut the vegetables. Gochugaru needs a little time to bloom and thicken; if you throw it straight into the pan, it tastes dusty before it tastes deep.

4. 4

   Cut the vegetables

   Slice the onion thick enough to stay sweet and visible, cut the carrot thin enough to soften fast, and keep the scallions in 2-inch lengths. The vegetables are not filler. They give sweetness and crunch against the octopus, so cut them to finish in the same few minutes.

5. 5

   Start the pan

   Heat a wide skillet or wok over high heat until a drop of water jumps. Add the neutral oil, then the onion and carrot. Stir-fry 1 minute, only until the onion edges begin to shine. You want the vegetables awake, not collapsed.

6. 6

   Stir-fry hard

   Add the drained jjukkumi and all the sauce. Stir-fry hard for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping and tossing so the sauce coats every piece. The sauce should tighten and turn glossy, with no watery pool in the bottom of the pan. If liquid gathers, spread everything out and give it another 30 seconds over high heat. Stop as soon as the octopus is firm, springy, and still tender.

7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Add the scallions and sliced chilies and toss 20 seconds. Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Scatter with toasted sesame seeds and carry it to the table at once with hot rice. Spoon the red sauce over the rice after the octopus is gone. That last spoonful is why no one leaves the table early.

Chef Tips

• •Buy jjukkumi that smells clean and faintly sweet, never sour or ammoniac. The skin should look moist, not dry, and the tentacles should hold together firmly. My teacher would have sent a tired tray back without a word.
• •Frozen jjukkumi is acceptable for a weeknight. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, drain it well, and still clean it with flour and salt. The safe corner to cut is buying it already gutted. The corner you cannot cut is drying it before it hits the pan.
• •Keep the gochujang restrained. It brings body, but too much makes the sauce sticky and sweet. Gochugaru gives the cleaner fire this dish needs.
• •For a fuller table, add blanched soybean sprouts at the end or serve them on the side, not buried in the pan from the start. They should stay crisp and clean against the red sauce.
• •Leftovers keep 1 day in the refrigerator, but reheat gently and briefly. Better still, chop the leftovers and fry them with rice, gim-garu, and a little sesame oil for bokkeumbap.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Let it come to room temperature before cooking so it spreads quickly in the hot pan.
• •The jjukkumi can be cleaned up to 12 hours ahead, then covered and refrigerated on a tray lined with paper towels. Blanch and stir-fry only just before eating.
• •Cut the vegetables a few hours ahead and keep them chilled separately. Do not salt them ahead, or they will release water into the pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 365g)