Dried squid was one of my all-time favorite snacks when I was young. I still love it and if I don’t eat it for a while, I get cravings. I always keep a few dried squids on hand in my freezer. Then I can just take one out whenever I want it, toast it on the stove and eat it.
If you’ve never tasted it before, it kind of tastes like beef jerky but it has its own pungent smell, intense flavor, and unique texture. It’s a little hard, but when you chew it, it gets soft with a lot of savory flavor. I usually slightly toast it over an open flame on my stove before eating it. Sometimes I skip the toasting and just eat it straight: I tear it into strips and eat it as is or I dip it in gochujang.
Dried squid is loved as a snack among Koreans, but you can make many other side dishes with it. The most popular is deep fried squid, called ojingeo-twigim in Korean. You can find it all over Korea, sold by street vendors, served in restaurants, or in neighborhood pubs, but it’s always best when you make it at home because you can make it just as you like it. I like it with a thinner batter and a generous amount of squid, so I can really enjoy the flavor and texture of the squid. I don’t like a thick, puffy batter with a small piece of ojingeo inside.
Frying the squid twice is essential. Just like Korean fried chicken (dakgangjeong), it might look crispy when fried once, but in a few minutes it will become soggy. Frying it a second time will keep it crispy for much longer. For convenience, you can fry some extra squid just once, freeze it, and then fry it again right before serving.
Ingredients
- 1 large dried squid (about 4 ounces)
- ⅓ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- pinch baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup reserved squid soaked water
- 4 to 5 cups vegetable oil
For soy vinegar dipping sauce:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru) (optional)
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
Directions
Prepare squid:
- Separate the arms and body of squid. Remove the bone that looks like plastic inside the squid.
- Use scissors to cut the body of the squid crosswise into ½-inch-wide pieces. Separate the arms into pieces with the scissors. Soak in 2 to 3 cups cold water for 4 to 5 hours until soft and flexible.
- Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the water from soaking.
- Mix the squid with 2 tablespoons flour with your hands to coat evenly. Set aside.
Fry:
- Combine potato starch, the remaining ¼ cup flour, kosher salt, baking powder, egg, and the reserved squid soaking water in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a fork.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a 10 to 12 inch pan over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 F. Drop a small spoonful of batter into the heated oil. If the batter floats to the surface in a second, the oil is hot enough for cooking.
- Dip each piece of squid into the batter to coat well. Carefully place the coated squid pieces, a few at a time, into the hot oil. Cook, turning a few times, until the batter is light golden and crunchy, about 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer the cooked squid to a strainer. Repeat with the remaining squid pieces.
- When the squid pieces have all been fried once, fry them again, 3 to 4 minutes until very crunchy and golden brown. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Serve:
- Make a soy vinegar dipping sauce by combining soy sauce, vinegar, hot pepper flakes (if used), and sesame seeds in a small bowl and mixing it well.
- Serve immediately, with the sauce.
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I mad it today so yummy I lover your cook
Dear Maangchi,
I am Korean living and working in Singapore..
Last week, my 3 kids craved for the Korean street food.. As such while I was looking through your website, I found the perfect menu!! This was it. The fried squids and sweet potato were so tasty and it perfectly matched well with the dok bok ki – dipping the fries into the sauce!!
And guess what! I have created my own version of Kim bari (glass noodle wrapped with seaweed then fried) which was also awesome! Thanks for sharing so many useful & delicious menu. JY
oh you are talking about kim mari:김말이, right? If you want, let’s share the recipe! https://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/reader-recipes
Hi! I made Japchae for dinner last night and Kimchee chigae the night before. Tonight it is Doenjang chigae. We do eat alot of Korean food in my house although we are chinese. All these dishes I learnt from your site. Thanks again for being there as a point of reference and inspiration each time I have to cook dinner. I’d like to add one more dish to my repertoire – Squash patties (saw that in a korean drama). Can I use the batter for Fried squid dish to make squash/zuccchini patties? If not, can you let me know how it is done? Thanks.
I don’t know what Squash patties. Anyway, as long as you can cook many Korean dishes, why don’t you experiment! : ) I think you can make it.
Hi Maangchi! Maybe Lyn147 meant squash pancakes… Lyn147, the recipe you want might be here: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/hobakjeon
Thanks Maangchi for these delicious recipes! I made the Pajeon pancakes and my dad stuffed them into his mouth during supper, and he spared me and my mum only 1 pancake to share!! He absolutely LOVES squid. I will try this recipe… but double, or maybe triple the portion. haha
haha I was going to make my squid like this and I have sweet potatoes I was going to fry too; so funny that I come to see if Maangchi has a recipe similar to what I’m thinking and its EXACTLY what I had in mind! Lol thanks Maangchi(yet again)!!
yeah, cool, isn’t it? I read your mind! lol
hehehehe~ i love squid too! dried or fresh~
but I though 오징어튀김 was made with fresh squid..or am i wrong????
You can make it with either one. Using dried squid gives better taste.
You are wonderful Maangchi. SOmetimes I get ojingeo from a Korean store that is prepared whole and is steamed I think. it is very moist and not fried. Do you have a video showing how to make this?
yes, I know how to make it. Your request “Stuffed Steamed squid” recipe will be posted in the future. Thank you!
Hi Maangchi
I have lot of dry squid from my country and don’t know what to cook. Thanks for fried squid recipes but could you please tell me what starch powder is ? I only see in the store like all purpose flour, bread flour, cake flour, or corn starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch,….
Thanks in advance.
I like to use potato starch powder, but sweet potato or corn starch powder will be ok, too.
Thanks Maangchi
kim
Hi Maangchi,can i use instead of squid,dried wild baby pollack?
thanx
You can try, but I can’t give you a good answer because I’ve never used dried wild baby pollack in this recipe. Do an experiment and let us know the result.
hiii Maangchi can i make this with fresh squid? i just can’t find them dry
yes, you can, but dry it completely with paper towel before frying it, Otherwise, the hot oil will splash.
Thank you so much for this recipe! My husband and I just moved to Georgia and I can’t find any fresh Korean food. I have been crazy fried squid but all I could find was frozen dried squid. Yay, now I can use it to make what I have been craving!
Thank you! I am also going to try the Korean veggie pancakes. Do you ever add kimchi to them to make them spicier?
haha, I absolutely understand your craving for this dish. When you make kimchi jeon, add chopped kimchi and use less vegetables. I use only chopped kimchi and a little bit of either chopped onion or green onion.
i know this is an old comment, but there are so many markets in Ga. we even have Korea town in Atlanta.
Dear Maagnchi,
I heard about a korean dessert, named matang. The main ingredient is sweet pototes. As I am not familiar with Korean word, would appreciate if you can show me the photo and briefly explain how is matang make?
Your reply is much appreciated. Thank you.
yes, matang is made with Korean sweet potatoes sliced, fried, and coated in sticky sugar syrup.
Dear Maangchi,
I love your video. You instructions are clear and easy to learn.
Thank you for sharing.
Big Boy,
This is not going to be a proper dish for your mom if she can’t chew any food hard as you said. Fried sweet potato will be good. : )
Hi Maangchi!
Im a teenager learning how to cook and your videos are amazing!
I just wanted to ask if the squid would come out too chewy or if they are still soft like the restaurants make them. Im planning on making this for my mom but she cant chew anything too chewy or hard. Thanks!
Confused,
you can use any kind of vegetables you like with this batter. Onion, carrot, green pepper…
I made this recipe and the squid was.. ok.
But the sweet potatoes were fantastic! Are there any more vegetables that are good fried in this batter?
Confused
sorry I should have posted more detailed recipe for this. I think you can fry it just only 3-5 minutes until it is golden brown. Once it is golden brown, the inside is cooked. But when you set it aside after frying, lose its crispiness. So you will have to fry it again for a few more minutes. Then it will be very crispy.
Thank you! Also, how long do you cook the squid before taking it out the first time?
Confused,
Don’t get confused! Fry it and set it aside and fry it again. That’s right! Check my “dakkangjung” recipe video. I am showing how I fry twice the chicken wings.
How do you mean to fry it twice? Do you fry it, set it aside and then fry it again? or do you fry it, dip it in the batter again and then fry it again?
Portugalbear,
Yes, that’s the way of making dried squid softer.
If you use dried squid as it is, you won’t be able to chew it later because it’s too hard.
Hi Maangchi, why do you have to soak the squid? is it to make it soft?
Hi, June,
Thank you for your compliment!
Hi Maangchi,
I’ve been dying to learn how to make Yuk Gae Jang and I found your video on iFood.com. Your recipe is amazing! The instructions of your video are very clear. I really appreciate you are sharing your recipes with us and I hope you keep doing what you are doing!
Best of luck!
June
I’m not sure. It seemed that it was kimchi made with squid (with or without daikon).
Ah well. Thank you so much for the help. :-)
frugal celiac,
Hi, I’ve never heard about squid kimchi. Do you mean kimch with squid?
Hi Maangchi!
I’m sorry if you are getting this twice, but I don’t know if my question made it through.
I love your youtube videos and the recipes I’ve tried so far were excellent. My fiance is even hooked. I’ve shared some what I made with people at the office and my family and they really enjoyed the food! Thank you!
I wanted to know about Squid Kimchi. I heard about it and would love to make it, but can’t find any recipes on it. Are you able to help me?
Thank you in advance.