Korean Jjukkumi-bokkeum, Spicy Stir-Fried Baby Octopus

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Jagalchi Fish Market

📍 Where this dish comes from: Busan · Jagalchi Fish Market
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Korean Jjukkumi-bokkeum, plated and ready to serve

Jjukkumi-bokkeum is a fiery, glossy stir-fry of tender baby octopus coated in a garlicky red pepper sauce. It is a spring specialty along Korea’s west coast, when baby octopus are at their best. It cooks in minutes, so have everything ready before you light the stove.

Per serving: 346 calories · 14 g net carbs · 37 g protein · 14 g fat (calculated from the ingredients)

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for Korean Jjukkumi-bokkeum

Korean Jjukkumi-bokkeum, plated and ready to serve

Korean Jjukkumi-bokkeum, Spicy Stir-Fried Baby Octopus

Jjukkumi-bokkeum is a fiery, glossy stir-fry of tender baby octopus coated in a garlicky red pepper sauce. It is a spring specialty along Korea's west coast, when baby octopus are at their best. It cooks in minutes, so have everything ready before you light the stove.
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Korean
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 346kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound baby octopus cleaned
  • 2 tablespoons coarse salt for cleaning
  • 1/2 small onion sliced
  • 1/2 small cabbage wedge cut into squares
  • 2 scallions cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • Sauce: 2 tablespoons gochugaru, 1 tablespoon Keto Gochujang-Style Paste (Chapter 10) or store-bought gochujang, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon allulose, 3 cloves garlic minced, 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Rub the octopus with the coarse salt for 2 minutes to remove the slime, then rinse well. Cut into bite-size pieces.
  • Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the octopus for 30 seconds. Drain immediately. This keeps it from releasing water into the sauce.
  • Stir together all the sauce ingredients.
  • Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the onion and cabbage and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
  • Add the octopus and sauce and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, just until everything is glossy and coated. Add the scallions, toss, and turn off the heat. Finish with sesame oil and seeds.

Notes

Overcooked octopus turns rubbery, so the total time in the wok after blanching should be no more than 3 minutes. If you cannot find baby octopus, use regular octopus tentacles cut into pieces.
Chef's Tip: Make it a meal the Korean way: add a few slices of pork belly to the wok first for jjukkumi samgyeop, a hugely popular combination.
Keto Swap: The sauce usually includes sugar or corn syrup. Allulose gives the same glossy coating. The nutrition uses the Chapter 10 keto paste; store-bought gochujang adds about 4 grams of net carbs per serving.
Success Tip: This dish is very spicy. For a milder version, halve the gochugaru and add a little extra soy sauce.
Nutrition is calculated from the ingredients and is an estimate per serving. Net carbs exclude fiber and allulose.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 346kcal | Protein: 37g | Fat: 14g | Fiber: 4.6g
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Cooking Korean Jjukkumi-bokkeum in the kitchen

About This Dish

Jjukkumi is the Korean name for webfoot octopus, a small species found along Korea’s west coast. In spring, the females are full of tiny eggs that look like grains of rice, a delicacy many diners seek out. Coastal towns hold jjukkumi festivals each spring to celebrate the season. In restaurants, the stir-fry is often cooked on a hot plate at the table. When most of it has been eaten, diners ask for rice to fry in the leftover sauce.

Pairs Well With

This recipe is from The Ultimate Korean Keto Cookbook by Gisele Costello, Chapter 4: Seafood (Jagalchi Fish Market). See all Korean recipes

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