Today I’m going to introduce you to a simple, flavorful seafood dish called ojingeo-bokkeum. It’s spicy Korean stir-fried squid, one of my all-time favorite dishes. It’s easy to make that if you do it once you’ll probably be able to make for the rest of your life! : )

This recipe is very special to me because it’s the first one I ever shared on YouTube, on April 9, 2007. I filmed it with a very simple point-and-shoot camera (Sony Cybershot DSCW50) so the quality is not very good, and I used music that was protected by copyright, which YouTube later removed. This video really needed a remake in HD.

I was living in Toronto, Canada at the time, and I never would have known that I would still be cooking Korean food on YouTube so many years later. But I’ve met so many wonderful people around the world through my videos that it’s truly one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.

This dish is incredibly easy to make once you get the ingredients together. I’ve been making it so long I don’t even remember where I learned it! It’s like a part of me. And I don’t remember why I decided to make a video about it except that me and my Korean coworkers used to go to a Korean restaurant all the time in Toronto and eat ojingeo-bokkeum there. They all loved it, but I thought to myself: “Mine is better.”

You can use more or less hot pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you like it, and you could substitute squid for chicken, or even king oyster mushrooms if you’re a vegetarian.

Good luck with making delicious ojingeo-bokkeum!

ojingeo-bokkeum

Ingredients

Serves 2 to 4

  • 1 pound cleaned squid, cut into bite size pieces (about 2″ x ½”)
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch

squid

For seasoning paste:

Vegetables:

  • 12 green onions, cut into 2 inch long
  • 1 green chili pepper, sliced
  • 1 medium onion (about 7 ounces), sliced
  • 1 small carrot (about ½ cup worth), sliced into thin strips (about 2″ x ½”)

vegetables

Directions

Make slurry

  1. Combine the potato starch and ¼ cup water in a small bowl and mix well.

Make seasoning paste

  1. Combine garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hot pepper flakes, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.

Stir fry!

  1. Heat up a pan over medium high heat. Add the vegetable oil and stir-fry the onion, carrot, green onion, and green chili pepper for about 7 to 8 minutes until the green onions are wilted and the onion is a little translucent.
  2. Add the squid and seasoning paste. Stir fry for a few minutes until the squid turns opaque.
  3. Mix in the slurry and cook for 30 seconds.

ojingeo-bokkeum

Serve

  1. Serve right away as a side dish for rice.

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138 Comments:

  1. Hi, I was wondering if it would still taste good to use a mix of king oyster mushrooms and squid in order to make more servings without having to break the bank for squid (even frozen squid is insanely expensive where I’m from). This is my favorite Korean dish and I don’t want to mess it up!

  2. ilcorago Philadelphia, PA joined 11/18 & has 4 comments

    So easy and so delicious. I could only get smaller, already cleaned squid, but they were sweet and tender. This is one of my favorites. Thank you!


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  3. thekim21@gmail.com Florida joined 12/22 & has 1 comment

    Hi Maangchi!! How would you change your preparation if you only have frozen squid? I have a bag of Assi frozen squid and am not sure if I can pan fry it frozen or if I should thaw it first. Thank you!!

    • sanne Munich joined 8/14 & has 309 comments

      No problem at all. Just wash, clean and dry them as usual after thawing.
      If you’re in a hurry, you may even give them a hot bath (really; not much hotter than for a bath!); preferably in a well-closing waterproof container or a plastic bag.
      I did that at a friend’s BBQ years ago – she just handed me a bag of still frozen squids, I had my freshly-made sauce (intended for pork, but since a mixture of pork and squid works perfectly…). Big success!

  4. freldici France joined 6/20 & has 33 comments

    bonjour MAANGCHI ! Je ne savais pas trop comment cuire mon calamar : maintenant je sais ! merci ! j’en profite pour vous dire que je vous suis depuis la naissance de ma 2ème fille il y a 6 ans et elle a donc grandi avec vous et vos vidéos : elle vous adore et vos vidéos nous détendent toutes les deux : vous rendez vous compte, une petite française parisienne de 6 ans sait faire du kimchi !!!!

  5. MaangchiLove Montreal, Toronto joined 8/19 & has 59 comments

    My first time. The sauce is delicious, but the squid I bought from a supermarket seems to be a different kind. It was tough. Korean ojing-o is more tender and juicy, I think :(


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  6. sinned chicago joined 4/15 & has 2 comments

    Maangchi –

    To use King Oyster mushrooms instead of squid, about how many? Or how much volume of ingrediet for 1 pound of squid?

    Has it been 13 years already thank you for sharing your passion!

    sinneD

  7. lizlewis71 Twin Falls, Id. joined 11/13 & has 4 comments

    Hi. I have been following you for a long time. I made this but I can’t get squ8d in my area (Idaho) so I used a seafood mix. I am adopted from Korea and learning so much from you. Thank you!

  8. Charl Orange County joined 3/19 & has 1 comment

    Hi Maangchi,
    Thank you for sharing this recipe. I cooked this for my family last night and they all loved it!
    It was spicy & very tasty.. another great recipe from you.. Thank you!

  9. Megan87 South Korea joined 1/19 & has 2 comments

    How many people would this dish feed with rice?

  10. Mikura New Haven, CT joined 6/09 & has 8 comments

    Maangchi,

    I had the pleasure of watching your videos pretty early on since the summer of ’07. Such a fantastic journey you’ve had thus far, and also what great resources you’ve given to the world!

    In the post, it says your first video was April of 2017, you must have meant 2007!

  11. MollieGrant London joined 7/17 & has 1 comment

    nice post

  12. Carl O Auckland, New Zealand joined 4/17 & has 3 comments

    10 Year Anniversary. Congratulations Maangchi. Here is my Spicy Stir-fried Squid. I used only head and tentacles (I’m lazy today next time I will use whole squid). Also I added some zucchini. Absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making Ojingeo-bokkeum again.


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  13. Sarah03 New york joined 7/13 & has 3 comments

    After cooking the recipe Maangchi’s food really does give the same joyful expression of deliciousness she has while eating. I can make the same expression because the flavors really does taste that delicious! So yummy! Made this without the red pepper flavors. Did put in the green hot pepper which makes it spicy kick too. Super super delcious and easy, even got past the cleaning squid part. Thank you Maangchi!

  14. lucyzuo California joined 4/17 & has 1 comment

    HI, Maangchi, I am a college student from California and I am a new subscriber. This recipe was very simple and delicious. I made this today for dinner and it’s soooooo goooddd <3 Maangchi you're awesome. I couldn't find squid in my local market but I used calamari instead and it's just as delicious.


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  15. Ipe Philippines joined 3/17 & has 2 comments

    Good day Maangchi!

    To celebrate your 10th year on Youtube…. I cooked this Spicy Stir Fried Squid again! It’s just so delicious! And what better occasion to prepare it than on your anniversary! Thank you for sharing your recipes, I haven’t been to Korea but cooking your dishes makes me want ti visit there someday. ☺


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  16. Ermin Fei Indonesia joined 2/15 & has 32 comments

    Love you, too, Maangchi ^^
    Thank you for being such a great teacher. Although we never meet, I really look up to you as my “Korean mum” who teaches me great Korean foods. You are truly an inspiration ^^
    Now that I am married to my husband (who is a Korean), he almost always praise me for my cookings.. Whenever he taste something nice, he would look at me and said; “Maangchi?”
    I am more comfortable cooking Korean food as compared to Indonesia food.. hahahaha ^^
    Stay healthy and stay cheerful ^^
    By the way, your expression when you opened the champagne bottle.. was priceless hahahahaha ^^

  17. stonefly Olympia WA joined 11/11 & has 61 comments

    We all love you too, Maangchi!!!

  18. joshhead buffalo joined 4/17 & has 2 comments

    Congrats on 10 years Maangchi!! Hoping for 10 more!! How many minutes do you stir fry the squid?? I don’t want it to be over or under cooked! Thanks Maangchi, you are the best!!

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