Having recently traveled to DC and then NYC, coming back home – my dinners have felt uninspired. I’ve gotten used to a week of eating out or getting dinner served by my parents that I don’t know what to make or eat (nor do I have the energy). We ordered BBQ chicken twice – yay for ubereats and charcuterie nights so I can procrastinate on making anything real. Well, what’s the best way to get inspired but to watch some Korean cooking show TVs!
So, I’m back with a super easy but flavorful “Osam Bulgogi”. What does that mean?
“O” = ojingeo, squid in Korean
“Sam” = samgyupsal, pork belly in Korean
Bulgogi = stir-fried meat
So as you can guess, this is spicy stir-fried squid and pork. Most often, “dae pae samgyupsal” is used which is very thinly cut pork, also similar to the shabu shabu cut of pork. It’s a recipe from “Kim Soo-Mi”, Korea’s legendary grandma actress which means it’ll be easy to follow and the recipe is flexible. Because every grandma cooks with a “spoonful” and “handful” of this and that, right?
Cut some veggies
Make the sauce
Have 2 bowls. One for the pork and one for the squid.
Marinate separately
Stir fry!
For the uninspired cold (or hot) days, make this super easy but delicious spicy plate of squid and pork!
Ingredients:
- 10 oz (300 g) thinly sliced pork belly
- 1 cleaned medium-sized squid (~8 oz, or about 250 g)
- ½ carrot
- ½ large onion (1 medium onion)
- 1 scallion (green onion)
- ½ Tbsp sesame oil
- Sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 heaping Tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang)
- 1 ½ Tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp plum extract, maesil chung *
*Can be substituted with 1/2 Tbsp honey or sugar and 1/2 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice. Korean plum flavored extract is a popular sweetener made with Korean green plums (also known as Japanese apricot) and is often used in marinades or sauces to add a level of both sweetness and tartness.
Instructions:
1. Prep the vegetables. Thinly slice the onions. Cut the carrot in half. Thinly slice the carrots. Chop the scallion. Set aside.
2. Make the sauce. Add all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix together.
*If you have time, let the sauce ingredients sit together in the fridge for at least a half hour. If crunched for time, you can skip this step. This was not part of Kim Soo-mi’s directions but I find that sauces that have time to sit together are often more well balanced.
3. Cut the squid* into bite size pieces – about ½ inch width. If you are using long pork strips, cut into bite size pieces.
*I bought a cleaned whole squid at the Korean grocery store and cut them into pieces. There’s often also frozen squid or calamri that will work or if you’re good in the kitchen, one whole squid from the Korean seafood counter!
4. Prepare two bowls. Place the squid into one bowl and the pork into the other. Place in half of the vegetables into the squid bowl and the other half into the work. Add in about ⅓ of the sauce into the squid bowl and the rest into the pork bowl.
*If there is time, marinate for about 30 minutes. You can skip this step. If you only have a choice to let the marinate sit once, this step should be done more than step 2.
5. In a medium-sized non stick frypan, turn the heat on to medium-low. Once the pan is heated, first, add the pork mixture. Stir fry until the meat is about 80% cooked through.
6. Move the pork to the outer sides of the frypan and allow for empty space in the middle. Increase the heat to high. You want to cook squid in high heat to prevent it from turning too tough and chewy. Add in the squid mixture into the middle and stir fry. Keep the mixtures separated until the squid is thoroughly cooked, about 2 minutes.
7. Mix everything together in the pan. Toss in scallions, add in the sesame oil and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes, as all the flavors come together and blend well. In the beginning, the ingredients will not seem to mesh well together but after mixing and stir-frying together, the dish will come together. Finish with a sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds. Enjoy with a bowl of rice!
*Note: At first, it may not seem like enough sauce. The first time, I made about 25% extra to add in later because I felt like there was not enough sauce in the bowls. But I think it became too salty later.
And then of course, some clips from “Soo-Mi’s Side Dishes”
Separate the bowls!
Make the pork into a circle and add the squid into the middle!
Yum!
One big bite!
| Servings |
2-3 people as the main
|
- 10 oz thinly sliced pork belly 300 g
- 1 cleaned medium-sized squid (~8 oz or about 250 g)
- ½ carrot
- ½ large onion (or 1 medium onion)
- 1 scallion green onion
- ½ Tbsp sesame oil
- Sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds
- 1 heaping Tbsp Korean chili paste gochujang
- 1½ Tbsp Korean chili flakes gochugaru
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp plum extract maesil chung*
Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients:
|
|
- Prep the vegetables. Thinly slice the onions. Cut the carrot in half. Thinly slice the carrots. Chop the scallion. Set aside.
- Make the sauce. Add all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix together. *If you have time, let the sauce ingredients sit together in the fridge for at least a half hour. If crunched for time, you can skip this step. This was not part of Kim Soo-mi’s directions but I find that sauces that have time to sit together are often more well balanced.
- Cut the squid* into bite size pieces - about ½ inch width. If you are using long pork strips, cut into bite size pieces. *I bought a cleaned whole squid at the Korean grocery store and cut them into pieces. There's often also frozen squid or calamri that will work or if you're good in the kitchen, one whole squid from the Korean seafood counter!
- Prepare two bowls. Place the squid into one bowl and the pork into the other. Place in half of the vegetables into the squid bowl and the other half into the work. Add in about ⅓ of the sauce into the squid bowl and the rest into the pork bowl. *If there is time, marinate for about 30 minutes. You can skip this step. If you only have a choice to let the marinate sit once, this step should be done more than step 2.
- In a medium-sized non stick frypan, turn the heat on to medium-low. Once the pan is heated, first, add the pork mixture. Stir fry until the meat is about 80% cooked through.
- Move the pork to the outer sides of the frypan and allow for empty space in the middle. Increase the heat to high. You want to cook squid in high heat to prevent it from turning too tough and chewy. Add in the squid mixture into the middle and stir fry. Keep the mixtures separated until the squid is thoroughly cooked, about 2 minutes.
- Mix everything together in the pan. Toss in scallions, add in the sesame oil and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes, as all the flavors come together and blend well. In the beginning, the ingredients will not seem to mesh well together but after mixing and stir-frying together, the dish will come together. Finish with a sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds. Enjoy with a bowl of rice!
- *Note: At first, it may not seem like enough sauce. The first time, I made about 25% extra to add in later because I felt like there was not enough sauce in the bowls. But I think it became too salty later.
*Maesil Chung (plum extract) can be substituted with 1/2 Tbsp honey or sugar and 1/2 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice. Korean plum flavored extract is a popular sweetener made with Korean green plums (also known as Japanese apricot) and is often used in marinades or sauces to add a level of both sweetness and tartness.
Leave a Reply