← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 700 g small or medium squid, cleaned
• 3 tbsp Gochujang
• 1 tbsp Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin or rice wine
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 2 tbsp corn syrup, rice syrup or honey
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 tsp Sesame seeds
• 6 Perilla leaves (kkaennip) (optional)
• ½ Lemon, cut into wedges

Method

1. Pat the squid dry. Score the bodies on one side with shallow diagonal cuts 1 cm apart so the sauce can sink in and they don’t curl up too much.
2. Mix the marinade, rub it all over the squid and chill for 20 min.
3. Heat a griddle pan, barbecue or heavy frying pan until very hot and brush with oil.
4. Grill the squid for 2–3 min per side, until opaque with charred spots. The sugary sauce burns quickly, so move pieces to a cooler spot if needed.
5. Snip into rings and strips with scissors, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve on perilla leaves with lemon wedges.

Tips

• High heat and a short cook keep squid tender: longer than about 6 minutes in total and it turns chewy.
• Don’t marinate for more than a couple of hours, or the squid gets watery.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Korean Bapsang FutureDish