Ojingeo-jeot

Step 1: Sterilise a 750 ml glass jar and lid: wash in hot soapy water, rinse, then dry in a 250°F oven for 10 minutes. Cool fully.

Step 2: Peel any loose skin from the thawed 1 ⅓ lb squid bodies, cleaned, rinse it, and pat it completely dry. Weigh it and check you have 20% of that weight in salt.

Step 3: Rub the squid all over with 4 oz coarse sea salt, inside and out, pack it in a clean glass or plastic box with all the salt, cover and refrigerate for 7 days, turning it once a day. It is cured when the flesh is firm, opaque and slightly translucent at the edges.

Step 4: Rinse off the salt, then soak the squid in plenty of cold water for 20–30 minutes, tasting a sliver: it should be well seasoned, like a salty olive, not harsh.

Step 5: Squeeze and pat the squid dry, then cut it into thin strips about 5 mm wide and 5 cm long.

Step 6: Mix 3 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes) with 4 garlic cloves, 1 tsp fresh ginger, 2 tbsp rice syrup (jocheong) and 1 tsp sugar into a thick red paste and let it sit 5 minutes.

Step 7: Add the squid, 2 scallions, 1 green chilli and 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds and mix with gloved hands until every strip is glossy and red.

Step 8: Pack into the jar, press down, close and refrigerate for 2 days before eating. Keep for up to 2 weeks, using a clean, dry spoon. Discard if it turns slimy, grows mould, fizzes or smells sour-rotten instead of sweet and briny.

Step 9: To serve, spoon out a portion and stir in 1 tsp toasted sesame oil if using.

Step 10: Cooked version for pregnant people, babies, older people or anyone with weak immunity: skip the cure, blanch fresh squid strips in boiling water for 1 minute until opaque, chill them in iced water, season as above with 1 tsp salt instead of curing, and eat within 3 days.