Ojingeo bokkeum (오징어 볶음) is a spicy stir-fried squid dish. Ojingeo is squid, and bokkeum refers to the dishes that are stir-fried. Koreans love squid, and this spicy dish is highly popular at home and restaurants.
The squid is cut into bite-sized pieces and stir-fried in a slightly sweet gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste) based sauce along with some vegetables.The red spicy sauce adds a burst of spicy flavor to the crisp vegetables and tender squid!
Once you clean the squid, the dish cooks up very quickly.
How to prepare squid
Grab the body in one hand and the head in the other. Firmly pull apart with a slight twisting motion. The head and innards should easily slip out of the body. Then, cut the tentacles from the head just below the eyes.
Remove the skin from the flesh and the beak from the center of the tentacles. However, Korean cooks commonly leave the squid skin on. It’s a matter of preference and depends on the squid.
Finally, some people lightly score the squid in a small diamond pattern (about 1/4-inch squares). It helps the squid pieces hold more sauce and gives them an interesting look. I skipped scoring in this updated post. Instead, I left the squid body whole and cut into rings. You can also cut the squid body open and then into about 3/4-inch wide and 3-inch long bite size pieces.
Seasoning mix
The seasoning mix is made with staple Korean ingredients, such as gochugaru (red chili pepper flakes), gochujang (red chili pepper paste), garlic, ginger, etc. This recipe is certainly hot, but not fiery hot. If necessary, you can adjust the heat level to your taste by using more or less gochugaru.
Vegetable options
I used onion, carrot, zucchini, and scallions in this recipe. Green cabbage and bell peppers are also common. Fresh hot chili peppers are also commonly used in this dish, but the heat can be quite intense with certain varieties.
More squid recipe
Ojingeo Muchim (Spicy Squid Salad)
Ojingeochae Muchim (Spicy Dried Squid Strips)
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 medium size squid about 14 ounces
- 1/2 medium carrot
- 1/2 medium onion
- 1/2 medium zucchini
- 2 scallions
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons Korean chili pepper paste gochujang
- 1 tablespoon Korean chili pepper flakes gochugaru - 1 or 2 teaspoons more for a spicier dish
- 1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon corn syrup or 1 more teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Clean the squid (see note). Cut the body into about 3/4-inch rings (or slit the body open and cut into 3/4-inch wide, 2-inch long bite size pieces). Do not make the pieces too small as they will shrink when cooked. Cut the tentacles into the same lengths. See note if you want to score the squid.
- Mix the squid with the seasoning mix and marinate while preparing vegetables.
- Slice the onion. Cut the zucchini and carrot into half lengthwise and thinly slice into 2-inch long pieces. Cut the scallions 2-inches long.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat and add the vegetable oil. Add the carrots, followed by the onions, zucchini, peppers and then the scallions. Stir fry the vegetables quickly only until they start to wilt, about 2 minutes.
- Push the vegetables to the sides of the skillet. Add the marinated squid and any remaining sauce to the center of the skillet. Stir fry just until the squid pieces curl up and turn opaque (about 2 minutes).
- Stir to mix the vegetables and the squid well for a minute. Drizzle the sesame oil over. (Do NOT overcook the squid. The squid will get tough.) Serve warm with a bowl of rice or on top of rice.
Notes
In this post, I’ve updated my squid recipe that was originally posted in April 2010 with more information, new photos and an improved recipe.
Claude says
Hi, I’ve had something simiar at a Korea restaurant, but it was a refreshing cold salad, which had finey sliced apple and octopus instead. Woud you know of this salad and a recipe? Thanks
Hyosun says
It sounds like something similar to this but with octopus: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/ojingeo-muchim-spicy-squid-salad-2/
Martin says
I made this tonight and followed your recipe exactly as published.
It’s a beautiful harmony of spicy, sweet, and umami with an appealing array of colors from all of the fresh ingredients. It’s a filling meal, yet so light, which I love!
Thank you for sharing this recipe and it’s definitely one I will continue to cook for many years! You’re my favourite Korean cooking blogger! 😄
Jay says
I followed your recipe to the dot…my wife’s mind was blown away! I have never seen her that amazed! I don’t normally leave a comment, but your recipe possessed my wife! The blowing of mind goes both ways!
Hyosun says
So happy to hear that! Thanks!!
María says
Thank you very much for this fantastic recipe! I just made it tonight for dinner and it was a complete success! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I will absolutely try more of your dishes! I love the nice and clean display of your website with so many great pictures, steps, and details. You made everything easier for us!
Kind regards!
Maria
Hyosun says
Oh that’s great! Thank you for trying out my recipe and for the nice words!
Thia says
Thanks for the recipe. Ive tried making it with squid, made it with fillet dori and ive even tried making it with beef belly and they all tasted delish! Kamsahamnida.
Sherri says
I made this twice, the second time with grouper cheeks instead of squid and it was just as good.
Kate says
Thank you so much for this recipie!! It’s exactly like my favourite Korean restaurant makes!! It’s now a family staple in my home!! Your amazing!!
Yu Alya says
Hi, thank you for this recipe! My husband is Korean and I’m Malaysian so obviously I am still clueless about korean dish and recipes. I try my best to serve korean food to my husband and found this recipe….my husband loves it so much!!!!! Thank you, you are my savior 😄💓
(He compliments my cooking many times for the first time ever since we got married 🤣)
Mi-Hyang Park says
My family and I really enjoyed this dish! Thanks for a relatively easy weeknight Korean dish! Yummy!
MrM says
This was excellent. I didn’t have Korean pepper paste. I used Sambal instead. Market didn’t have fresh large squid, so I ended up with about 40 small ones. That took some time to clean and cut. I will definitely make again. My veggies were carrots cut into sticks, sweet onion, bell pepper and scallions at the end. Didn’t think about cabbage. Already had some prepared from making Kalua pig and cabbage.
Molly Meinbresse says
I made this recipe with tofu instead of squid and it was amazing!!! It was not as saucy as the picture, so next time I might double the sauce recipe. I wonder if the tofu soaked up alot of the liquid. Regardless it was delicious. Thank you!!!
Carolyn says
I am not much of a fish eater, but I’ve made this sauce twice now for fried tofu and it’s superb. Thank you so much!
Lori L says
I requested this so much from my mom & I found your great site & made this & loved it so much! Thank you!
Hyosun says
That’s great to hear! My daughter used to request this often too.
RK says
Thank you, I’ve just tried this recipe for the third time and it’s delicious. I love seafood and this dish reminds me of the kind of lovely spicy and sweet flavours I experienced when visiting Korea.
Hyosun says
Awesome! You can make variations by adding different seafood as well. Thank you so much for stopping by and for the great review!
Joedy says
I had this dish at a local restaurant and loved it… so I googled it and found your website. I made it last night and it was WONDERFUL! The only change I made was to add pork belly when stir frying the vegetables because that s how the restaurant served it… otherwise it was identical. I absolutely loved it and evryone at work the next day loved the leftovers. I will definitely make this dish for company very often 🙂
Hyosun says
Great! So happy to hear you made this dish at home. The addition of pork belly sounds delicious. Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out!
Ash says
I love this # BTS
Gabriele says
Hello Hyosun,
Thanks so much for the Ojingeo Bokkeum! Tasted wonderful and was relatively easy to cook!
Wonderful website….
Regards from Berlin,
Gabriele
Hyosun says
Hello Gabriele – That’s great to hear! And thanks for the nice words! Oh I miss Berlin. Loved it when I visited in 2009.
kate says
hi – this is one of my favorite dishes! however, occasionally when we go to the restaurant, it is not baby squid. Instead, the dish is prepared the same way but with another main ingredient. I cannot tell what it is (even fish v. meat), but there is a crunchiness down the middle that is either cartilage or bones. Any ideas what it is? Thanks!
Hyosun says
Is it monk fish? Does the dish have soybean sprouts like this? https://www.koreanbapsang.com/2013/11/agujjim-spicy-braised-monkfish-with.html
Anonymous says
Just made this for dinner. So yummy!!! My hubby said he thinks this is his favorite Korean meal I have made yet. Thank you for sharing!!!
Leah
K & B says
OJingeo Bokkeum is so yummy. I love your recipe Hyosun, tried it 🙂
-B
domestic bunny says
wow, this looks lethal! can’t wait to try cooking it myself
Hyosun Ro says
KongKong – It’s always exciting to me to hear from someone like you who loves Korean food and likes to learn how to cook them.
Yes, dried red pepper flakes may be substituted for gochugaru in this dish, but add in small amounts until the desired level of spiciness is achieved. The regular crushed red pepper flakes have a lot of seeds which have intense heat. Also, for this dish, you can just add more gochujang instead of using gochugaru. Adjust the amount of gochujang to your liking. Hope this helps. Thank you!
KongKong says
question: can regular dried red pepper flakes be substituted for gochugaru?
KongKong says
omg, so excited having found this site!!! my hubby and i are obsessed with korean cuisine, we live in the middle of no where in michigan, to get good authentic korean food we have to drive 2 hours to ann arbor or detroit. even then, we make the trip often just for some awesome bulgogi, soontofu jigae and spicy stir fried squid, spicy pork bbq and stir fried noodles…ahhh… my mouth is watering just talking about. i finally had to get the gochujang myself and try to ease our craving by trying a few dishes at home. THANK YOU for this site!!!
Hyosun Ro says
Thank you, Sooji! Good to hear from you. Try it. It’s pretty easy. Let me know how it goes.
Sooji Choi says
Hi Mrs. Ro, it’s Sooji! Michelle told me about your blog…congrats on the FoodBuzz shoutout! I’ve been planning to try your porkbun recipe soon…will definitely let you know how it turns out. 🙂
Hyosun Ro says
Thanks. Hope you give it a try. My family loves it!
redkathy says
I love squid and spicy… This dish sounds perfect! Beautifully displayed too.
Hyosun Ro says
Linn and MaeJJ – Thanks for visiting and showing the interests in my recipes.
MaeJJ – Yes, you will definitely learn how to cook Korean food by trying my recipes. They are authentic home cooking. Let me know if you have any questions.
MaeJJ says
Hi, I like your blog and I’m interested to cook Korean food (I’m Korean drama’s fan too). I has tried cook a few dish and now I’ll learn from you. OK?
Thanks!
Linn @ Swedish Home Cooking says
Ohh I can’t wait to have some Korean food after this easter with so much milk products and French food. I just started an online cooking show, Swedish Home Cooking. Please check it out! Linn