Korean Stir-Fry Webfoot Octopus (쭈꾸미 볶음)

I first had Webfoot Octopus (쭈꾸미) in Korea with my sister and immediately fell in love with it. It is so spicy, savory, and has a hint of sweetness - a taste that you could not get sick of. The stir-fry octopus is usually served with bean-sprout to be eaten with rice or a bed of noodles. However, Korea has again impressed me by serving it up with white base pizza (gulps!).

For this recipe, I toss away the measuring spoon and just use the regular eating spoon (cause there are days that I just feel more... agak-agak) and no substitution for the Korean chili paste* nor chili powder, please :)

*to my fellow Muslim friends, you would need to check if the gojuchang contains wine/alcohol. Anne & Children use Haepyo Gochujang that is imported to Malaysia :) It can be found easily in supermarkets (and Shopee, etc...)

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Serving: 4-5 pax

Time: 45 mins - 1 hr

Ingredients:

Octopus

16 webfoot octopus (2 packets of frozen webfoot octopus)

2 pinch salt

1 spoon all-purpose flour

Sauce

4 spoons Korean chili paste (고추장)

1 1/2 spoon Korean chili powder (고춧가루) (>2 to make it spicier)

1 1/2 spoon soy sauce (not light soy sauce nor sweet soy sauce)

2 spoon of honey

1 spoon cornstarch

1 1/2 spoon of sesame oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 onion, sliced

Toasted sesame seed

Blanched bean-sprout+sesame oil

Preparation

• Use salt and flour to clean and tenderize the octopus in a bowl/basin. Stop cleaning it once you see many bubbles are formed. Rinse with water.

• In a bowl, add Korean chili paste and chili powder, soy sauce, minced garlic, cornstarch, honey, and sesame oil. Mix well. You should taste the sauce and adjust the spiciness at this point.*

• In a medium-heat pan, stir fry the onion for about two-three minutes (not golden brown, but just soft enough).

• Add in the sauce mixture and stir. Add a bit of water (about 10 ml of water) so that the sauce is not too dry and does not burn easily (but you do not want a runny sauce). Stir until the color turns deep red (not black).

• Add the octopus into the sauce and stir-fry it for another 4-5 minutes. Turn off heat.

• On a plate, spread the blanched bean-sprout that has been seasoned with sesame oil as the bed. Place the stir-fried octopus onto the bean-sprout. Top it with sesame seed.

짠!! Eat it with rice, noodle, or white-base pizza (highly recommended) and it will definitely heal your body and soul ;)]]

*If too spicy, I recommend adding a bit more honey and balance the taste with a bit more gochujang.