Spicy Octopus Stir Fry (2) | Nakji Bokkeum (낙지볶음)

Recipes evolve and sometimes they can be or have to be adapted to the ingredients you have in your fridge. Last time I made nakji bokkeum, I made it with bell peppers. Today's recipe has dduk (rice cake) and mung bean sprouts because that's what I felt like using that day. And that's how I cook in general. I like to buy what looks fresh and just throw in things that I think will taste good.

Ingredients:

1¼ lbs octopus or squid

2 teaspoons canola oil

3 to 4 garlic cloves

6 to 8 hot peppers (the tiny super spicy kind)

½ onion, sliced

4 king oyster mushrooms

2 cups mung bean sprouts (kongnamul)

½ cup rice cakes (dduk)

handful fresh noodles

2 tablespoons hot pepper paste (gochujang)

1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

+ sesame seed garnish

Start by prepping the ingredients. Cut up the octopus into smaller pieces, cut up the mushrooms, slice the onions, smash the garlic, and mix together the sauce ingredients (hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar).

Heat up a pan - something wide and shallow - with oil. Add in the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and peppers. Saute until the mushrooms are browned. Add in the octopus and stir. Let this cook for 3 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, you can boil some water and cook the dduk and noodles. The dduk should be cooked for just a few minutes until soft, and the noodles only take 3 or 4 minutes as well.

Add the sauce to the octopus and vegetables and mix it in. Cook for another 3 minutes before adding in the rice cakes and the mung bean sprouts. Once the sprouts are wilted, add in the noodles.

Garnish with some sesame seeds and serve while it's still piping hot. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe page: