If you know anything about my food-frakking deputy, Julia, you know that she frequently has uncontrollable cravings for octopus.
You know, I’ve had octopus a lot, and I keep forgetting that they have this weird butt nozzle.
Julia and I tried to follow the preparation directions on the back. Which didn’t go perfectly. First it said to rub salt on the octopus until a white foam appears. Didn’t really see that. Then it said to lightly poach it in water.
By the time I was frying the tentacles in Korean barbecue sauce, I was already wishing that I had marinated them overnight and then stewed them for a couple hours.
But the tentacles turned out colorful if nothing else.
On another night, we satisfied my craving for croaker. At most Korean groceries, half the fish freezer is filled with croaker, so I had to see if it was all that great.
Julia found a recipe for sweet and sour croaker. It involved slashing the side of the fish and dusting it in rice flour.
For the vegetable, I sliced up some pickled Japanese radish.
It was sweet and crisp, not unlike the pickled squash I had recently, or maybe I’m just cuing in on the similar color.
Then the croaker sat in the oil until crisp.
I completely botched the sweet and sour sauce. I should have added the starch gradually, and not used the entire thing. Instead, I poured in a cup and a half of potato starch and the whole wad gelled into a rubbery paste. Chalk that up to a learning experience.
But I would have to say it was a pretty decent fish. The meat peeled off the bones easily and it had a subtle, almost homey flavor to it. This would be a good fish for when you have company coming over.