12.30.2005

Nakji Ma-eul: Octopus Village

nakji

Nakji bokkeum is a delicious Korean octopus dish made up of sliced octopus, veges and gochujang (Korean red pepper paste). When I was young my mom used to make this dish loaded with onions, carrots, green onion, garlic, red pepper, and squash. So fricking delicious with a major strike of spiciness that really locks into your taste buds.

At Nakji Ma-eul, they included the regular grouping of vegetable with the addition of cabbage, bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles. I wasn't too into the noodles because they easily got welded to the bottom of the hot pan. We got "bo-tong" spiciness, which means average. One of my friends who had gone there before and ordered "spicy" got a lil lickin from the pepper seasoning. "Bo-tong" spiciness was perfect for me, although a lil bit spicy for the others in my party.

nakjirice

The nakji bokkeum is brought out in a large pan that is placed over a burner in the middle of the table. It cooks up pretty quickly, then it's time to dive in with our chopsticks. With the leftover veges scraps and drippings bokkeumbap (fried rice) is made. So frickin good! Making fried rice with leftover scraps and drippings practically from anything, kalbi, stewed monkfish, and this spicy octopus, is heavenly. The dripping and the rice gets nutty and it browns up and the spiciness starts to penetrate the starch.


Nakji Ma-eul: Our Secret Recipe
Beverly & Hobart

2 comments:

e d b m said...

looks good... almost like a korean seafood paella. i want a paella pan! think surfas has one? speaking of surfas, i was bad last week... bored, nothing to do - went to surfas and bought sh*t i didn't need like cheesecloth haha.

susan said...

haha. i like their new location. better organized and such. i spend soo much time when i go there. love browsing the aisles.

have you made the korean chicken soup before? i thought i might have seen it on one of your older posts. well one good use for the cheese cloth... fill it with sweet rice. tie or twist it up. while the soup is cooking put the rice filled cheese cloth in with the edges hanging out the pot. and when your soup is done, take the cheese cloth package out. you will have delicious sticky sweet rice packed with chicken flavor. serve it in the soup. yum!