I sometimes feel like eating a small morsel of fermented seafood with rice. That’s Korean jeotgal, salty preserved seafood. It tastes salty, chewy, garlicky, gingery, and sweet with a deep, fermented, almost nutty flavor. Today I’m again introducing you to one of my favorite mitbanchan (preserved side dishes that can be refrigerated for a long time). It’s spicy fermented squid jeotgal called ojingeojeot.
Korea is surrounded by ocean on 3 sides, so you can imagine that a variety of fresh fish and seafood dishes are available all year round. My Korean ancestors wanted to enjoy their fresh fish for a long time so they developed a way to preserve them in salt. This jeotgal can be eaten later with rice and other side dishes, or it could be used in kimchi making, too. It’s mostly made with seafood such as anchovies, shrimp, small yellow corvina, or pollock’s intestine, etc.
Among all the different kinds of jeotgal, this ojingeojeot made with squid is my favorite because it’s very easy to make and squid is available pretty much everywhere, fresh or frozen. I use frozen here in New York City because fresh squid is hard to find.
Ingredients
Makes 1 pound of ojngeojeot
- 1 pound cleaned squid (See the video for how to clean squid)
- 3 tablespoons Kosher salt
for the seasoning paste:
- ⅓ cup gochu-garu (Korean hot pepper flakes)
- ⅓ cup rice syrup (or corn syrup)
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon peeled ginger, minced
- 2 green chili peppers, stems removed, deseeded, and chopped
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Directions
Ferment squid:
- In a bowl, mix the squid and the salt, then put it into a glass jar or an airtight container.
- Cover and refrigerate. Let it ferment for 1 month. Mix it up every week or two by turning the jar upside down, so the salty water mixes with the squid. Put it back into the fridge right side up.
(1 month old fermented squid on the left, fresh salted squid on the right) - After 1 month take the squid out of the jar and rinse it in cold running water to remove any excess salt. Drain and dry it out with paper towels.
- Peel the skin off. It can be slippery so I usually use paper towels to get a grip.
- Cut into strips, chop the squid into small pieces, and then gently pound with your knife to soften it. Set aside.
Make seasoning paste:
- Combine hot pepper flakes, rice syrup, fish sauce, green onion, garlic, ginger, and green chili pepper in a large bowl.
- Mix well with a spoon.
Put it together:
- Add the chopped squid to the bowl of seasoning paste. Mix well and add sesame seeds and sesame oil.
- Mix all together with a spoon and transfer to a glass jar or an airtight container.
- Keep it in the refrigerator and serve just a little as a side dish, until it runs out.
Bonjour Maangchi ! Testée beaucoup de fois et délicieux tout le temps ! Alors j’ai voulu “créer “! J’ai fait le même assaisonnement avec de la morue dessalée et voici le résultat en photo ! Je vous conseille cette recette car c’était délicieux … avec du riz bien sûr sûr. Bisous de France, Paris. Cindy
See full size image
Biiiiiiiiig failure here !
I don’t know what happened but I couldn’t achieve the recipe because the squid turned unusuable even if it wasn’t spoiled.
It standed 5 weeks in the fridge with salt.
When I opened the jar to wash it, the smell was agreable, it smelled as in a good fish shop.
I tasted it after peeling and washing and it turned too much salty with an awful texture (the external part was really tough and the meat itself was mushy and slippery).
I washed it again and again and again and…again… the water was never clean and I saw that the meat was vanishing little by little. At the end only the tough part remained, as a thin tough and translucid skin.
The squid and the salt were good quality…I really don’t know what happened but it must be the amount of salt.
Anyway, I have to do it again and be patient.
As you see in the recipe, fermenting squid is very simple and needs only 2 ingredients: squid and salt. You need good quality squid and proper amount of salt but you said, “The squid and the salt were good quality” Then I think the issue is amount of salt.
Salt will make the squid ferment without going bad. Add more salt. The amount of salt in the recipe is the least amount that I developed. Follow the recipe tightly or add more salt if you want.
I’m sure you will make nice oijingeojeot later.
Hi, I fermented the squid for 1 month, and made the dish. However, the squid is not as crunchy as the one I bought outside. Is there anything I can improve on?
Maangchi. J’admire et adore votre site mais vous ne répondez plus aux commentaires. … que ce passe-t-il? ???
Helo evlibodi,
I just made this dish.
After 1 m fermentation it still smells like a fresh squid. I’m not sure, if 1 m was enough. And it’s still very salty, after washing it several times. And it was bubbling while washing, is it usual?
I don’t dare to eat it
But I love maangchis kimchi a lot
Bonjour. Pareil que vous mais j’ai poursuivi la recette (avec moins de tous ces piments!!!) Et c’est surprenant, bizarre mais finalement très bon sur du riz ou vermicelles BRULANT pour cuire le calamar. Bon appétit ✌
Hello Maangchi,
I have a question regarding to this recipe:
First, can I substitute the octopus for the squid?
Second, if I chop the octopus or the squid into small pieces when putting the salt in, can I reduce the time for fermentation down to 1 or 2 weeks?
Thanks a lot, and I look forward to your reply . :D
Bonsoir. Comme pas de réponse, je me permets ! Pieuvre ou calamar peu importe mais bien décortiquer et nettoyer. Après même si coupé en tout petit c’est 1 mois de fermentation, pas moins! Vous allez voir c’est délicieux
Well – or rather not:
Our fishmonger closes this Saturday… :-(
Are the 750 grams before or after cleaning? I managed to buy some today, already cleaned and skinned (eyes and barks are a minor issue)…
Bye, Sanne.
Hi Maangchi,
Need help on recipe close to the fermented squid, my kids like fry fish but then its just plain,
something with spicy/nonspicy with vegetables with nice looking red color sauce to it would it possible i you could come up with this??? Hope to hear from you. Thank you very much.
Regards,
Adrian
Dear Maangchi
Ever since I found your blog and youtube video I have been a massive fan and so hooked by your recipes!
I am a Japanese born Korean and have been living in London for over 20 years.
Although I had no chance to learn how to cook Korean food from my mother my memories and my tongue remember how good my mother’s cooking was and I am so proud of being a Korean having both culture Korean, Japanese and British.
And I love cooking myself too.
Anyway… I have a question about this squid dish.
Should these squid be very fresh ‘Sashimi’ level of quality?
It is said you could use frozen, which I imagined they are not needed to be ‘Sashimi’ quality as they will be fermented…
I will try and get as fresh as possible in London, however finding ‘sashimi’ quality may be a little difficult.
Hope you could kindly get back to me sometime :)
Thank you.
Tomo
Hi Maangchi
I have a question about the fermented squid.
I live in Singapore, a tropical country.
I followed the steps to do the fermented squid and would like to check with you is there a minimum time to ferment the squid. I left the squid in the freezer (as it colder of course). Can it be like 2 weeks? I’m so greedy and I can’t wait to eat it!
Looking forward to hear from you soon!
All I can say to you is to be patient. You need to ferment it at least 1 month. Good luck with fermenting salty squid! : )