Ojingeo Bokkeum, aka Korean Spicy Stir-Fried Squid

I grew up on this dish. Ojingeo Bokkeum, or Korean spicy stir-fried squid, remains one of my favorites. It needs nothing more than rice—no additional banchan—making it a deeply satisfying rice bowl. Despite that long-standing love, I had never made it myself until recently. It took several rounds of testing. The version I made before my trip to Portugal was flavorful, but the soy sauce was slightly overpowering, masking the underlying sweetness needed to balance the heat from gochujang and gochugaru.

Ceramic bowl was wheel-thrown and glazed by me.

When I returned from Portugal with a clearer head and a renewed eagerness to cook, I refined the recipe. Along with adjusting the sauce, I brought forward the presence of bean sprouts. The final version landed exactly where I wanted it—balanced, layered, and deeply satisfying.

INGREDIENTS

[serves 3 with rice]

one pound of squid, cleaned and sliced

three cups of bean sprouts

one cup of sliced aehobak (Korean baby squash), substitute with zucchini

three tablespoons of vegetable oil

one teaspoon of finely chopped ginger

[sauce]

half a yellow onion, halved and sliced

four tablespoons of water

three tablespoons of gochugaru

three tablespoons of Korean soy sauce

one tablespoon and two teaspoons of sugar

one tablespoon of gochujang

one tablespoon of minced garlic

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients listed under [sauce] and set it aside. Heat a wok over high heat. Once heated, add vegetable oil and ginger. When the ginger becomes fragrant, add the squid and prepared sauce. Stir once or twice to coat the squid. Add the aehobak and bean sprouts, then stir to coat evenly with the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Once the bean sprouts are tender, remove from heat and serve over rice.

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More recipes:

The Tomato Sauce

Bibim-Soba

French Miso Lamb

Samgyetang, aka Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup

Miso Brûlée Salmon

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