Fermented squid side dish

Ojingeojeot 오징어젓

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.

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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
    squid

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for the seasoning paste:

Directions

Ferment squid:

  1. In a bowl, mix the squid and the salt, then put it into a glass jar or an airtight container.
  2. 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.
    ojingeojeot (오징어젓)(1 month old fermented squid on the left, fresh salted squid on the right)
  3. 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. 
  4. Peel the skin off. It can be slippery so I usually use paper towels to get a grip.peel squid skin
  5. Cut into strips, chop the squid into small pieces, and then gently pound with your knife to soften it. Set aside.ojingeojeot (오징어젓)ojingeojeot

Make seasoning paste:

  1. Combine hot pepper flakes, rice syrup, fish sauce, green onion, garlic, ginger, and green chili pepper in a large bowl.
  2. Mix well with a spoon.

Put it together:

  1. Add the chopped squid to the bowl of seasoning paste. Mix well and add sesame seeds and sesame oil.
  2. Mix all together with a spoon and transfer to a glass jar or an airtight container.Korean fermented squid
  3. Keep it in the refrigerator and serve just a little as a side dish, until it runs out.Korean fermented squid side dish

Posted on Thursday, November 4th, 2010 at 11:07 am. Last updated on August 10, 2021.
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173 Comments:

  1. vb38 joined 7/10 & has 36 comments
    Posted December 16th, 2010 at 10:12 pm | or create a profile.

    Sirdanilot, don’t worry abt bad smell in yr fridge. As long as u use a good glass (preferable over plastic) container that is super airtight (if u still want extra “protection”, wrap cling wrap over the entire jar), there is NO SMELL! I hope u will try to mk coz it is VERY VERY DELICIOUS! if u like herrings (my MUST-EAT when in Amsterdam….oh, mussels too!) then u will like ojingeojeot!

  2. mase kul joined 12/10 & has 13 comments
    Posted December 16th, 2010 at 12:22 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi

    Normally I would stir-fry squid with bell pepper, onion and carrot or make Thai-style squid salad. I’ve never eaten raw fermented squid before but your casserole of ojingeojeot looks too delicious.

    Yesterday I prepared my first batch salted squid but I think I need to salt some every other week to make sure I have fermented squid at hand.

    I can’t wait ..sigh….

  3. JiHyun42 NY joined 11/10 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 27th, 2010 at 6:35 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi,

    Can I use a plastic container– a Rubbermaid for ex, to store the squid, or do I need to use a glass jar?

  4. sirdanilot Terneuzen, The Netherlands joined 10/09 & has 25 comments
    Posted November 27th, 2010 at 2:01 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi, today we bought 2kg of fresh squid at the market which I cleaned and put half of it in the freezer (we used the other half for another dish). I am a bit afraid of trying this recipe though because I don’t want my fridge to be penetrated by a fishy smell! Will it smell very horrible if I make this recipe?

    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,049 comments
      Posted December 4th, 2010 at 8:00 pm | or create a profile.

      “I am a bit afraid of trying this recipe though because I don’t want my fridge to be penetrated by a fishy smell! Will it smell very horrible if I make this recipe” You asked the wrong person. Be brave to make delicious food. : )

  5. hastiin Navajo Rez joined 11/10 & has 4 comments
    Posted November 21st, 2010 at 2:23 pm | or create a profile.

    HI Maanchi, Last night I made my cousin-sisters a small dinner using some of your recipes and they loved it. Seems that they are the only family memebers who are brave enough to try some different then hamburgers. hahaha

    I wanted to make this recipe but I live on the navajo reservation and stores here don’t have squid, so I use shrimp. I cut them into bite-size pieces and blanched them enough to be cooked but still soft, then mixed in with the other ingridents. I had to use Red Chile powder (used in mexican dishes) but it still came out GOOD!

    Then I made Dubu buchim yangnyumjang and dubu ganjang jorim, Soegogi gui,

  6. PristineDrayco Singapore joined 6/10 & has 3 comments
    Posted November 19th, 2010 at 5:21 am | or create a profile.

    Hello Maangchi!

    It has been a long time since we have chat:) I’m Pristine from Singapore. I’m just wondering, can I use this ojingeojeot in fermenting kimchi?

    By the way, I am going to make my first batch of kimchi next week! (EXCITING!:)) and i want to know if its good to add both aejeot (anchovy fish sauce, right?) and saewoojeot together in the kimchi paste?

    Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes:D

  7. JellyBelly joined 11/10 & has 5 comments
    Posted November 17th, 2010 at 7:21 pm | or create a profile.

    Do you include the tentacles, or do you just use the body portion? Anyway, I blanched some last night and it was soo good :D I love your recipes!! Thank you so much <3 ^^

  8. Isabelle Stockholm joined 11/10 & has 3 comments
    Posted November 12th, 2010 at 5:29 am | or create a profile.

    Maangchi, this is the first time I post something, I just joined your fans but have been watching your shows for a while. Thank you so much for showing the world how to eat healthy and what to do with vegetables, as in the west we are often limited to salad, stew. My husband and I love spicy food but I have three young kids. I’d love to introduce them to fermented fish, as it is soo healthy, but could you give me an idea what veggies could I mix their fermented squid with? Thank you!

    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,049 comments
      Posted November 12th, 2010 at 8:28 am | or create a profile.

      I wouldn’t use a lot of vegetables to avoid watery ojingeojeot which will go bad easily. One of the reasons I use chili peppers is that they don’t contain much water. You see I dry the fermented squid with paper towels in the video.

      If you want to eat it with vegetables, I recommend taking some from your ojingeot jar or container each time right before serving, and mixing it with your favorite vegetables such as cucumber, celery, carrot..etc

  9. stacey joined 11/10 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 6th, 2010 at 1:59 am | or create a profile.

    wouldn’t the squid go bad if it is kept in the fridge for a month? it is seafood…i’m just cautious…hehe

  10. soko2usa Minnesota joined 4/09 & has 55 comments
    Posted November 5th, 2010 at 12:37 pm | or create a profile.

    If you can’t find small squids, can you just use one regular sized one?

  11. AsianFoodLover Atlanta, GA USA joined 10/10 & has 2 comments
    Posted November 4th, 2010 at 10:09 pm | or create a profile.

    Sounds really yummy, I love squid! I’ll have to try it this weekend! So excited!

  12. Toto Bonn, Germany joined 6/10 & has 34 comments
    Posted November 4th, 2010 at 4:48 pm | or create a profile.

    So adorable. Like Kimchi with seafood, and of course not with a vegetable base but with a fish base :D By the way. How does the squid taste like? Is it sour like in regular Kimchi, or is it just salten?
    Love it :)

  13. re.toon joined 9/10 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 4th, 2010 at 3:27 pm | or create a profile.

    Ohh Maangchi! Can´t believe you posted!
    I was dying for this recipe!!
    Thank you so much!!!!!!!!

  14. MindyGirl Orange County, CA joined 8/09 & has 10 comments
    Posted November 4th, 2010 at 12:03 pm | or create a profile.

    My favorite side dish! Thank you for posting this – I’m going to start it this weekend!

  15. powerplantop Louisiana joined 6/09 & has 70 comments
    Posted November 4th, 2010 at 11:57 am | or create a profile.

    My wife loves ojingeojeot she always has it in the fridge. But it is the stuff from a jar. Now that I know how easy it is to make I will a big batch when I get home. So around Christmas I will post a pic of how it turns out.

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