08 June 2008

Annalog Eats: Live Octopus!

JIm's Chingu was really interested in trying 산낙지 (san nakji), raw, squirming octopus! We took him to a restaurant in Bundang. I've eaten live octopus once before in Busan, so I knew what I was in for. Chingu, however, was a newbie, so he was curious with a tinge of apprehension. After his first bite, he was soon craving more. He nearly finished the entire plate of octopus all by himself.

If you are into seafood, particularly octopus, I recommend the dish. The octopus is chopped up, but you must be sure to chew quickly and thoroughly for the tentacles may stick to the inside of your mouth or your throat.

I tried the octopus head for the first and LAST time. It was just way too chewy. I was chewing for about 30 seconds when I finally decided to spit it out.

We also tried nakji bokkum, stir fried octopus. Aside from the octopus overload, I also stayed away from the nakji bokkum because it was VERY spicy. Even Cyndi thought the dish was spicy, and she drinks Tabasco for breakfast.

Check out the video to see Chingu's funny reaction to his first bite of san nakji.

2 comments:

annamatic said...

It took me some time to get the courage up to try san nakji (um, like 2 years), and it also took a little time to eventually like it. I think the trick is eating smaller pieces, so try ordering "se bal nakji" for newbies. They have much thinner legs so they're not so chewy... :)

annalog said...

Thanks for the tip!