Jjukkumi Tteokbokki, Korean Baby Octopus and Rice Cake Stir Fry Recipe!
Jjukkumi is Korean name for baby octopus. They are not real “baby octopus” though, because they are full grown. No, they don’t grow up and become a real octopus. I think people named jjukkummi since they are the baby size of a real octopus.
This Jjukkumi Tteokbokki recipe is definitely one the best way to enjoy Jjukkumi!
I didn’t plan it but it just happened to be sharing this Jjukkummi Tteokbokki recipe during Halloween season… I think it’s a perfect food to cook for your Halloween. Look at that mini octopus!!! 😂😂😂
I mean, it looks delicious to me, but some what creepy looking same time if you never had this dish… lol!!
If you want to check out more of my tteokbokki recipes, check out down below!
Tteok is Korean rice cake, but if you can’t find tteok, go ahead and use any noodles you can find (even pasta!) and toss in jjukkumi. It will be still fantastic!
Let’s get started Jjukkumi Tteokbokki!
First, let’s prepare Jjukkumi. If you are using fresh jjukkumi, clean them well with some all purpose flour to get rid of mud in their suckers. Rinse well and remove guts from jjukkumi’s heads as well. If you are using frozen jjukkumi, that is already cleaned up (like I mine), just thaw it out.
Soak 1 lb tteok, Korean rice cake in hot water for 10 minutes. The shape of tteok is not super important, you can use any shape of tteok for this recipe.
If you can’t find tteok, go ahead and use any noodles that you have (even pasta!) and toss in jjukkumi. – in this case, you need to prepare the noodles by following the directions of the package you are using and add them when you are adding green onions and chili at the end. It will still be fantastic!
Slice 1/2 medium size onion, 1 Korean daepa, large green onion or 4 green onions, 1 to 3 serrano peppers and 6 oz cabbage (approximately 1/8 of regular size cabbage).
Combine all sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
The sauce ingredients are…
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp maesilaek, Korean green plum extract (you can substitute to cranberry juice)
- 2 tbsp gochugaru
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped garlic (approximately 6 to 8 cloves)
- 1 tsp grated ginger
Maesilaek is essential in Korean cooking, so I highly recommend it if you love cooking Korean food at home. It gives beautiful fruity sweetness, tangy flavor and the enzyme helps to tenderize the meat & seafood and get rid of unwanted smell.
You can make it during the Maesil (green plum) season, which is May to Jun. If you missed the time frame, you can go ahead and purchase this same Maesilaek I use in my kitchen that is made from a small Maesil farm in Southern California. It is a real deal Maesilaek, not full of corn syrup like most of the cheap store bought ones out there. It also has the best price for this real fermented maesilaek that ships!
Click the picture above to check it out!!
Heat a large wok over medium high heat; add cooking oil, swirl to coat.
Drain the rice cake completely and add into the wok along with the sliced onion and 3/4 of the sauce mixture. Keep stirring to stir fry the rice cake and the onion with the sauce for about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the cabbage, the jjukkumi and the rest of the sauce mixture. Stir everything tougher and keep stirring because sauce is easily burned and rice cake is easily stuck on wok. Stir fry until jjukkumi is almost done cooking, about 3 to 4 minutes.
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Then add the green onions and the chili. Toss everything together for 1 minute. Garnish with some sesame seeds and serve.
Enjoy!
Jjukkumi Tteokbokki
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb Jjukkumi, baby octopus
- 1 lb tteok, Korean rice cake
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- sesame seeds
For Sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp maesilaek, Korean green plum extract
- 2 tbsp gochugaru
- 2 tbsp Gochujang
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped garlic (approximately 6 to 8 cloves)
- 1 tsp grated ginger
For Veggies
- 1/2 medium size onion, sliced
- 6 oz cabbage (approximately 1/8 of regular size cabbage), sliced
- 1 to 3 serrano peppers, sliced
- 1 Korean daepa, large green onion or 4 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- First, if you are using fresh jjukkumi, clean them well with some all purpose flour to get rid of mud in their suckers. Rinse well and remove guts from octopus’s heads as well. If you are suing frozen one that is already cleaned up (like I did), just thaw it out.
- Soak tteok in hot water for 10 minutes.
Combine all sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside. Heat a large wok over medium high heat; add cooking oil, swirl to coat. - Drain rice cake completely and add into wok along with sliced onion and 3/4 of sauce mixture. Keep stir to stir fry rice cake and onion with sauce about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add cabbage, jjukkumi and rest of sauce mixture. Stir everything tougher and keep stir because sauce is easily burn and rice cake is easily stick on wok. Stir fry until jjukkumi is almost done cooking, about 3 to 4 minutes. Then add green onions and chili. Toss everything together for 1 minute. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve. Enjoy!
5 comments
You’re now in the USA. Be proud of yourself. If folks don’t like you, TS for them. Stand up, take a deep breath of freedom and LIVE! Your husband is truly blessed. You’ve a great personality and quick mind. Use them. Entertain and feed us. Love your husband and family.Study the life of Jesus Christ. And don’t EVER give up’
Thank you so much for the support!
OMG yummmyyyy! I have been watching you since I first discovered you on The Food Network Restaurant Express! I was rooting for you all the way because your food always looked so good! Tried quite a few of your recipes and I have to say, you NEVER disappoint! I can’t wait to try this! Although I love Octopus, can I use beef in this recipe? I currently have EVERYTHING on hand, just not the Octopus. :/ Do you think Beef would go well in this recipe?
Thank you so much for your support! Beef would work great with this recipe, but if you have the chance I would definitely try this recipe with the octopus when you are able to find them.
Will it still be spicy if I omit the serrano peppers? I noticed the sauce has some additional hot peppers spices.