Spicy Squid and Pork Stir-Fry or Osam Bulgogi is a popular Korean dish that you can make easily at home, a perfect cook-at-the-table kind of food. This has a wonderful combination of the surf and turf flavors – spicy and garlicky gochujang sauce with a hint of sweetness that brings everything oh so well together.
What is Osam Bulgogi?
Osam Bulgogi is an abbreviated name for Ojingeo Samgyeopsal Bulgogi. Ojingeo 오징어 is squid and Samgyeopsal 삼겹살 is pork belly. This dish originates from Gangneung 강릉 which is an area on the east coast of Korea and is a big municipal city of Gangwon-do province.
When I was growing up, I don’t remember every hearing about this dish in Seoul but now it’s become a very popular dish all over – especially with those who love really spicy foods. Often restaurants serve this spicy squid and pork stir-fry dish at the table where you get to cook it on a flat grill and then usually finish with some rice fried with the leftovers.
Which means you usually end up with a very full happy belly. 😵
I love Osam Bulgogi because it’s a great simple one-dish meal that you can have fun cooking and eating. Just something about cooking at the table makes it more fun, don’t you think?
My memories of Gangwon-do, east coast
When I think about this area, I remember when I was maybe in 4th grade, I spent the summer with my aunt (on my dad’s side) and their family who lived in Sokcho – which is just a bit further up north from Gangneung. I had a fabulous time that summer and ate tons of good food because my aunt loved food and she always had the best snacks.
I remember having Oksusu 옥수수 (corn) a lot as a snack because Gangwon-do is also famous for its corn. When I was there, I taught my cousins how to eat corn with butter and salt sprinkled on top – which was not a traditional Korean way but that’s how we ate at my house and they were so amazed when they had it the first time.
My uncle was also related to the family who owned Orion at the time, so my aunt would get boxes of Orion snacks, including, of course, Choco pie. Everything was so yummy and she let me eat as much as I wanted so obviously when I came back from that summer, my mom and my sisters were all a bit shocked when they saw me get off the train because I got so FAT!!! HAHAHA… oh well, at least I had a great time! No regrets!!
TIP FROM JINJOO!
Chef’s Tips for Osam Bulgogi
- Marinate the pork a little ahead of time so the flavors all get soaked up
- Additions or substitutions
- Onions, cabbages are kind of a must but you can add celery, mushrooms or most vegetables that stir-fry nicely with not too strong a flavor.
- Add Kongnamul (soybean sprouts) for extra chewy texture. I didn’t have it so not included in this recipe
- Substitute pork shoulder or butt instead of pork belly but in which case, you need to add some extra oil
- I added Minari (water dropwort) at the end but Perilla leaves also add great herb flavor. Cilantro can also work
- Substitute maple syrup with mulyeot (corn syrup) or oligodang (oligosaccharide syrup), 1:1 – I don’t like to use them but up to you
- Don’t overcook squid – it can get tough
- STORAGE – store leftover cooked osam bulgogi in the fridge and reheat in a frying pan.
Don’t have green plum syrup?
I use my homemade green plum syrup a lot in my everyday cooking but I try not to include in all my recipes because I know not everyone has it. However, I have to say, it does add wonderful acidity and fruity flavors to marinades and seafood dishes so you should definitely try using it if you can.
If you don’t have it, here’s what you can do –
1 Tbs green plum syrup = 1/2 tsp rice vinegar + 1 1/2 tsp sugar + 2 1/2 tsp water
If you want to read more and maybe make your own – check out Green Plum Syrup post and follow me on IG @kimchimari. I will share where you can order online for next Spring! You can also buy it online on Amazon from my store.
How to clean squid – you can do it!
The first time I tried to clean a squid… I remember being so frustrated because I just couldn’t get a good hold of that slimy little thing!
Tip #1 – sprinkle rough sea salt (cheonilyeom) on the squid skin and then grab it. the salt will give you a good hold without things slipping through
Tip #2 – watch my video to take it step-by-step but basically, scissors are your best friend. Use it to cut open the mantle (body), remove the innards, to flatten out, then separate the legs/tentacles from the body. Cut open one side of the legs so you can find and remove the beak/mouth and then just cut below the other eyes. Then you just cut it into smaller pieces!
Serving Suggestions
- Finish this spicy squid and pork stir fry meal with some fried rice with leftover Osam bulgogi! Leave some sauce and bulgogi in the pan and some leftover rice (warm rice also works) and cook it until everything is a little burnt. It’s the BEST PART!!
- Serve with some mild creamy side dish like my Creamy Apple Onion Salad or something refreshing like my Quick Cucumber Salad without soy sauce
- Serve with some Ssam (lettuce wraps) and enjoy by wrapping the osam bulgogi with greens with some rice. No need for ssamjang as this is quite heavily seasoned already. Refer to my ssam greens post to try different greens.
| Servings: 4 | Cook Time: 40 min | Difficulty: Medium |
Step-by-Step Instructions for OSAM BULGOGI
- COOK RICE – If you are going to make fried rice at the end. Or use leftover cold rice.
- SQUID – If using frozen squid, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. If in a hurry, squid thaws pretty quickly if you put the package in room temp water or put the whole squid inside a plastic bag and thaw in a bowl of water.
- Clean squid by cutting the belly side open, removing the guts, mouth and eyes. You can also peel the skin by sprinkling some salt and then using the salt to grab onto the skin. Otherwise, it can be quite slippery and hard to hold on to the skin.
- Cut squid into 1/2 inch wide and 2.5 to 3 inch long strips. Watch my video to see how. Set aside.
- PORK BELLY – If using pork belly slices, you just have to have it ready. If you have a piece of uncut pork belly, freeze for a quick hour or so and then slice it into 1/4 inch slice across the grain.
- MAKE SAUCE – add gochujang, gochukaru (korean red chili powder), maple syrup, green plum syrup, soy sauce, mirin or cooking sake, sesame oil, chopped garlic, chopped ginger and sugar. Read my Chef’s tips above for substitution tips for maple syrup and green plum syrup.
- MARINATE SQUID and PORK – Divide sauce equally into 2 separate bowls and in one bowl, add pork, sauce and massage with your hands a bit and leave it. In a second bowl, add the squid and sauce and mix. Leave both for 15 min at least or longer. Can refrigerate overnight to prep ahead.
- VEGETABLES – Peel onions and carrots. Cut onion into 1/4 inch thick slices and carrots into 1/8th inch thick slices. Cut green cabbage into squares and cut green onions into 2 inch lengths. If you like spicy, slice some Korean green chili peppers or Jalapeno peppers.
- If you can get Minari (water dropwort), it adds a great mild herb flavor. Rinse, clean off rotted leaves and then cut away the thick and fibrous stems and use the more tender part above that. Cut into 2 inch lengths including leaves if they are tender.
- If you don’t have Minari, substitute Kkaennip (Perilla) leaves. Wash, rinse and pat dry Perilla leaves. Cut into 1/3 inch wide strips.
- We will add this at the very end right before turning heat off so don’t add until at the very end. Additionally, you may want to add soybean sprouts – just rinse and pick out black rotted ones.
- If you can get Minari (water dropwort), it adds a great mild herb flavor. Rinse, clean off rotted leaves and then cut away the thick and fibrous stems and use the more tender part above that. Cut into 2 inch lengths including leaves if they are tender.
- Add all of the vegetables (except the minari/perilla/sprouts) to the bowl with squid and toss them to coat the vegetables with sauce.
- Heat up the pan on medium heat and cook the pork belly. About 1 minute on each side until mostly cooked and then cut it into smaller pieces with scissors. Lower the heat or turn off if it’s starting to burn. (You can also pre-cut the pork belly into smaller pieces)
- Add squid and vegetables to the pan with pork and cook everything together on medium heat for 2-3 min. until everything is cooked and most of the sauce has been reduced. If adding soybean sprouts, add them at this stage and cook everything together. Don’t crowd the pan and add too much because then you will have a soggy dish.
- Turn off heat when everything is cooked and looks like above! Squid cooks quickly so be careful not to overcook it. Add your fresh herbs – Minari or Perilla and stir so they are just very lightly cooked by the residual heat. If making fried rice, save some fresh Perilla or Minari for that.
- Time to serve! Enjoy with some rice now or wait a bit and make my favorite osam fried rice (osam bokkeum bap) below!
- EXTRA!! MAKE OSAM BULGOGI FRIED RICE – after you have enjoyed most of the Osam Bulgogi, you can put some of the leftovers back into the pan or leave some in the pan from the beginning. Add rice (just enough so it’s covered with sauce), mix until rice is all coated and then stir fry for 20-30 seconds. Then flatten the rice out so you can make the bottom a little burnt and crispy. Leave for a couple of minutes on medium-low heat. Add the fresh herbs right before serving.
If you liked this recipe, please leave me a comment and ☆☆☆☆☆ rating below!
How to make Osam Bulgogi Video
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Osam Bulgogi (Spicy Squid and Pork Stir-Fry)
Ingredients
- 1 each squid whole (about 300g/0.65 lb)
- 1/2 lb pork belly sliced (pork shoulder or butt for less fat)
Spicy Bulgogi Sauce
- 3 Tbsp Korean red chili powder Gochukaru
- 3 Tbsp Gochujang
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- 7 tsp Maple Syrup 7 tsp = 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp
- 1 Tbsp Green plum syrup (maesil syrup) see tips for substitutions
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce Jin Ganjang
- 1 Tbsp rice wine cooking sake or mirin
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh chopped garlic
- 1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger or 1/8 tsp ginger powder
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Vegetables
- 1 onion sliced thin
- 3 green onions cut into 2 inch lengths
- 1 cup green cabbage cut into squares
- 1 carrot sliced thin
- 1 cup Water Dropwort cut into 2 inch lengths – substitute Perilla or more Geen Onions
- 1 Jalapeno or Korean Green Chili sliced thin
Optional – for Fried Rice
- 2 cup cooked rice
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
Prep Ahead
- If you are going to make fried rice at the end, cook rice or take out cold rice from the fridge. Or heat up/thaw frozen rice.
- If using frozen squid, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. If in a hurry, squid thaws pretty quickly if you put the package in room temp water or put the whole squid inside a plastic bag and thaw in a bowl of water.
- If you can't buy pre-cut pork belly slices, freeze pork belly for a quick hour or so and then slice it into 1/4 inch slice across the grain.
Clean Squid
- Clean squid by cutting the belly side open, removing the guts, mouth and eyes. You can also peel the skin by sprinkling some salt and then using the salt to grab onto the skin. Otherwise, it can be quite slippery and hard to hold on to the skin.
- Cut squid into 1/2 inch wide and 2.5 to 3 inch long strips. Watch my video to see how. Set aside.
Make Sauce
- In a bowl, add gochujang, gochukaru (korean red chili powder), maple syrup, green plum syrup, soy sauce, mirin or cooking sake, sesame oil, chopped garlic, chopped ginger and sugar. Read my Chef's tips above for substitution tips for maple syrup and green plum syrup.
- Divide the sauce equally into 2 separate bowls and in one bowl, add pork, sauce and massage with your hands a bit and leave it. In a second bowl, add the squid and sauce and mix. Leave both for 15 min at least or longer. Can refrigerate overnight.
Prepare vegetables
- Peel onions and carrots. Cut onion into 1/4 inch thick slices and carrots into 1/8th inch thick slices. Cut green cabbage into similar sizes as the squid – into long strips. If you like spicy, slice some Korean green chili peppers or Jalapeno peppers.
Optional Herbs to Use (Perilla or Minari or even just green onions)
- If you have Perilla leaves, wash, rinse and dry Perilla leaves. Cut into 1/3 inch wide strips. We will add this at the very end right before turning heat off.
- I didn’t have Perilla so I used Minari (water dropwort). Rinse, clean off rotted leaves and then cut away the thick and fibrous stems and use the more tender part above that. Cut into 2 inch lengths including leaves if they are tender.
- Additionally, you may want to add soybean sprouts – just rinse and pick out black rotted ones.
- Add all of the vegetables (except the minari/perilla/sprouts) to the bowl with squid and toss them to coat the vegetables with sauce. Heat up the pan on medium heat and start cooking the pork belly. Cook for about 1 minute on each side until mostly cooked and then cut it into smaller pieces with scissors. Lower the heat or turn off if it’s starting to burn. (You can also pre-cut the pork belly into smaller pieces)
Time to cook!
- Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Add the squid and vegetables to the pan with pork and cook everything together for 2-3 min. until everything is cooked and most of the sauce has been reduced. If adding soybean sprouts, you should add them at this stage and cook everything together. Don't crowd the pan and add too much because then you will have a soggy dish.
- Turn off heat when everything is cooked. Squid cooks quickly so be careful not to overcook it. Add your fresh herbs – perilla or minari and stir so they are just very lightly cooked by the residual heat. If making fried rice, save some fresh perilla or minari for that.
- Time to serve! Enjoy with some rice now or wait a bit and and make my favorite osam fried rice (Osam Bokkeum Bap)!
Make Leftover Fried Rice (optional but a very happy belly)
- After you have enjoyed most of the Osam Bulgogi, you can put some of the leftovers back into the pan or leave some in the pan from the beginning. Add rice (just enough so it's covered with sauce), mix until rice is all coated and then stir fry for 20-30 seconds. Then flatten the rice out so you can make the bottom a little burnt and crispy. Leave for couple of minutes on medium-low heat. Add the fresh herbs right before serving.
Equipment
- non-stick frying pan
Tips & Notes:
- Marinate the pork a little ahead of time so the flavors all get soaked up
- Additions or substitutions
- Onions, cabbages are kind of a must but you can add celery, mushrooms or most vegetables that stir-fry nicely with not too strong a flavor.
- Add Kongnamul (soybean sprouts) for extra chewy texture. I didn’t have it so not included in this recipe
- Substitute pork shoulder or butt instead of pork belly but in which case, you need to add some extra oil
- I added Minari (water dropwort) at the end but Perilla leaves also add great herb flavor. Cilantro can also work
- Substitute maple syrup with mulyeot (corn syrup) or oligodang (oligosaccharide syrup), 1:1 – I don’t like to use them but up to you
- Don’t overcook squid – it can get tough
I made this recipe for at least the 6th time and can‘t get enough! Thank you so much for sharing it 🙂
I know right? It’s our family absolute fav too!! Thank you so much for the lovely note.
I can’t wait to try this recipe ! Is the nutritional information per serving or the whole dish ? Thank you !
It’s per serving – a healthy portion though so you may end up eating less than that. Enjoy!
After eating osam bulgogi a few weeks ago at a restaurant, I was dreaming on giving myself a try at home. I had to use some of the recommended substitutions, because I didn’t have everything at hand. It tasted just like as great and will be highly recomended by me!
Oh yay!! I’m soo happy to hear that it turned out well for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Have a great day!