Nakji-jeongol (Spicy Small Octopus Hot Pot)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide shallow jeongol pan, about 12 inches, or a broad low pot
• •Portable butane burner or electric hot plate
• •Kitchen shears for cutting octopus at the table
• •Fine strainer
• •Tongs or a slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the broth

   Put the water, anchovies, kelp, radish, and dried shiitake mushrooms, if using, in a pot over medium heat. When the water reaches a gentle simmer, pull out the kelp right away, because kelp left too long turns the broth slick and bitter. Simmer the anchovies, radish, and mushrooms 10 more minutes, then strain. You should have about 4 cups of clean, savory broth.

   Remove the dark guts from the anchovies before they go in. That small pinch of work is what keeps seafood broth from tasting harsh.
2. 2

   Mix the seasoning

   In a small bowl, stir together the gochugaru, gochujang, soup soy sauce, anchovy sauce, rice wine, garlic, ginger, sugar, black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the prepared broth. Let it sit 10 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. The gochugaru needs time to bloom, and using only 1 tablespoon gochujang keeps the pot from turning sweet and muddy.

3. 3

   Clean the octopus

   If your nakji is not fully cleaned, remove the innards from the head, cut out the beak, and trim away the eyes. Rub the octopus with the flour and coarse salt for 2 minutes, working between the legs where grit hides, then rinse under cold running water until the skin feels clean and no longer slippery. Drain well and keep cold. Do not cut it small yet; whole or large pieces are easier to pull from the pot the moment they curl.

   Flour grips the slime and salt loosens grit. Rinse thoroughly afterward, or the pot will taste dusty and too salty before you have even seasoned it.
4. 4

   Arrange the pan

   Set a wide shallow jeongol pan on a portable burner. Put the napa cabbage, soybean sprouts, and onion across the bottom first; they protect the pot and sweeten the broth as they cook. Arrange the zucchini, tofu, mushrooms, drained dangmyeon if using, half the minari, and the scallions in separate sections around the pan. Spoon the seasoning paste into the center. Lay the red and green chilies on top for color. This is not decoration. Jeongol is arranged before it is cooked, so every ingredient meets the broth at the right time.

5. 5

   Start the jeongol

   Pour 3 1/2 cups of broth around the edge of the pan, not directly onto the seasoning paste, so the arrangement stays clear. Bring it to a steady simmer at the table, then gently loosen the seasoning into the broth with a spoon. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, until the cabbage softens, the soybean sprouts lose their raw edge, and the tofu is hot through. Add the remaining 1/2 cup broth only if the pan looks crowded or too reduced.

6. 6

   Cook the nakji

   Lay the cleaned nakji over the simmering broth and vegetables. Turn it once as the legs tighten. The moment the legs curl firmly and the flesh turns opaque, usually 90 seconds to 2 1/2 minutes depending on size, lift it out to a plate. If you use an instant-read thermometer, the thickest part should read 63 C or 145 F. Leave it in while people talk and it turns to rubber. My teacher needed only one tap on the pot to say that.

   Frozen thawed nakji often cooks faster than fresh. Watch the curl and opacity before you trust the clock.
7. 7

   Cut and return

   Use kitchen shears to cut the octopus into bite-size lengths. Return the pieces to the pan for 20 to 30 seconds only, just long enough to coat them in the broth. Scatter the remaining minari over the top and add the sesame oil if you want a rounder finish. Taste the broth before adding anything else. It should be spicy, clean, and sea-sweet, not buried under paste.

8. 8

   Serve at once

   Keep the burner low so the broth barely moves while people eat. Ladle vegetables, tofu, broth, and octopus into small bowls and serve with rice. If you used dangmyeon, eat it before it drinks up the broth. If you want a second round, add a little rice to the remaining broth after the octopus is gone and cook it into a loose juk. That last spoonful is why people linger.

Chef Tips

• •Buy nakji that smells clean and faintly briny, never sharp. If the market's octopus smells of ammonia or the flesh looks dull and collapsing, cook something else that day. Korean kitchens cooked by the season because the season is half the recipe.
• •Autumn nakji from tidal-flat markets has a good reputation for a reason, but cleaned frozen nakji is honest weeknight cooking if you thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and dry it well. Poor fresh seafood is not better than good frozen seafood.
• •Keep the gochujang measured. One tablespoon gives body; more makes every ingredient taste the same. Gochugaru, broth, garlic, and the octopus itself should carry the pot.
• •Dangmyeon is optional and should stay modest. This is not a noodle pot wearing a seafood hat. Fifty grams is enough to please the table without stealing the broth.
• •If you do not have a jeongol pan, use the widest low pot you own. The vessel can change. The order cannot: broth first, vegetables until just ready, octopus last, octopus out as soon as it curls.

Advance Preparation

• •The anchovy-kelp broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for 1 month. Pull the kelp at the simmer even when making it ahead; bitterness does not disappear in the refrigerator.
• •The seasoning paste can be mixed 1 day ahead and refrigerated. It will deepen as the gochugaru hydrates, so taste the broth before adding extra salt.
• •Vegetables can be cut up to 6 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Clean the octopus up to 4 hours ahead, drain it well, and keep it cold. Do not cook the octopus ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 850g)