Nakji Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Octopus)

I was introduced to this Nakji Bokkeum place in Myeong-dong in a narrow alley. I’ve been disappointed many times by this fiery octopus dish in restaurants because plates turn out to be all heat and no depth of flavor.

This place does it right. Their secret is ginger and a lot of shaved onions. It’s also fascinating how easy this is to make. Even though it’s technically a stir fry, no oil is used. The result is tender octopus in a sweet ginger garlic fire sauce.

After making this video I made this at home, and it was the best I’ve ever had. Here’s how to do it.

INGREDIENTS

½ cup Water
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. Gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste)
1 handful Octopus or Squid, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces
Dash of Salt & Pepper
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Garlic, minced
1 tsp. Ginger, minced
1 handful Onions, shaved
A few Leek slices
1 tsp. Sesame Seeds
3 Tbsp. Gochugaru (Korean Chillie Powder)

• Heat water and ¼ cup gochujang on high heat.
• Add the octopus or squid. Throw in a dash of salt and pepper. Stir.
• Add sugar. Stir.
• Add garlic, ginger and 2 Tbsp. gochujang. Stir.
• Add onions, leeks and sesame seeds. Stir.
• Add gochugaru. Stir until it seems like the onions melt into the sauce.
• Serve.

Anyang Central Market

The markets of Korea are tons of fun, and one of my favorite places is my local one in Anyang. Every time I go there, I find something new and interesting. It’s a labyrinth of stalls and alleys, and after five years, I don’t think I’ve explored it all. It’s always bustling with not only shoppers but motor scooters making deliveries.

I’ve been wanting to make a video of my market, and the opportunity arose when Arirang TV wrote and asked to do a segment on how I do my blog. Rather than do the usual go to restaurant with foreigners and blogging about it on the laptop, I suggested we check out the market together.

I met the crew of three. One could speak English. And they followed me around as I shot videos of all the sights, sounds and smells (well, couldn’t video the smell). I sampled a bit of fresh kimchi and got to go up close to the red pepper mills to watch dried chillies being ground into the famous gochugaru. You wouldn’t believe how awesome the smell was. And I even found something new, this time a dark buckwheat tea that tasted toasty and warm. It was being sold as diet food, but I bought it because it tasted good.