Ojingeo sundae
오징어순대: whole squid stuffed with rice, tofu and vegetables, steamed, sliced and fried in egg
Abai Village in Sokcho, on Gangwon's east coast, was settled by people from Hamgyeong province in the north who could not go home after the Korean War. With squid plentiful in the East Sea, they stuffed it the way they had once stuffed pork casings for sundae, and the dish is now sold in the village's small restaurants and at Sokcho's Jungang market. The squid is filled with sticky rice, tofu and vegetables, steamed, cut into rounds and fried in beaten egg until golden. It makes a good sharing plate with a soy and vinegar dip. Chef's tip: mix a little glutinous rice into the filling; it binds the slices so they don't fall apart in the pan.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the squid
For the filling
For frying
For the dipping sauce
Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Clean 4 whole squid one at a time. Hold the body and gently pull the head and tentacles out; the insides come with them. Pull out the clear, plastic-like quill from inside the body and rinse the tube well under cold water, keeping it whole.
Step 2: Cut the tentacles off just below the eyes and squeeze out the hard beak from the centre. Discard the eyes, beak and guts. Rub the bodies and tentacles with 1 tbsp coarse salt, rinse again and pat dry. Peeling off the purple skin is optional.
Step 3: Chop the tentacles finely. Wrap 5 ½ oz firm tofu in a clean cloth and squeeze hard until no more water comes out, then crumble it into a large bowl.
5 minStep 4: Add the chopped tentacles, 7 oz cooked short-grain rice, 3 ½ oz cooked glutinous (sticky) rice, 1 carrot, ½ onion, 1 oz garlic chives or spring onions, 2 cloves garlic, 1 egg, ¾ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper and 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil. Knead with your hands for 2 minutes, until the mixture holds together when squeezed.
3 minStep 5: Spoon the filling into each squid body, pressing it down with the handle of a spoon. Common mistake: packing the squid to the top. Fill it only about four-fifths full, because the body shrinks as it steams and an overfilled squid splits. Close each opening with a cocktail stick threaded through like a stitch.
Step 6: Prick each squid 5 or 6 times with the cocktail stick so steam can escape. Bring water to a rolling boil in a steamer pan over a high heat.
Step 7: Steam the squid, covered, over a medium-high heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bodies are opaque white and firm, and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out hot (the filling should reach 160°F/160 °F, as it contains raw egg and squid).
25 minStep 8: Lift out the squid and leave them to cool for 10 minutes; they firm up and slice more cleanly. Remove the cocktail sticks and cut into rounds about 1.5 cm thick with a very sharp knife.
10 minStep 9: Mix 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and ½ tsp Korean chilli flakes (gochugaru) in a small bowl for dipping.
Step 10: Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Dust each round lightly with 3 tbsp plain flour on both cut sides, then dip it into 2 eggs.
Step 11: Fry the slices in batches for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until the egg coating is set and golden. Drain on kitchen paper and serve warm with the dipping sauce.
4 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ojingeo sundae take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of cooked short-grain rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of carrot?
- Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.
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