Small Cthulhu in a Big pot

 

Today’s culinary adventure took place at a local seafood restaurant on the backstreet near Lotte department store and Sinjungdong station (subway line 7). There are many local foods available, and Leo chose the one serving Yeonpotang which is a dish made by putting live octopus in a clear boiled broth and briefly blanching it together with vegetables. Usually, unlike many Korean soups, there is no special seasoning, so you can enjoy the true taste and chewy texture of octopus.  In our case, two small octopuses (scientific name Octopus Minor) were put in a pot above a gas stove.  Also, we have many side dishes such as green gallic stems with bean paste.  My kid enjoyed green bean and raw flounder which is also most common and popular form of sashimi here.

The nick name of octopus is ginseng in the tidal flats, meaning that it is a kind of energy booster thus eating soup infused with octopuses and vegetables gives you a lift. The name, Yeonpotang we had could be called Octopus Yeonpotang or just Nakjitang, because, according to culinary theorists, Yeonpotang was originally a food that has nothing to do with octopus. Yeonpotang originally refers to tofu soup boiled with tofu, radish, beef, pollack, and kelp in a clear broth.

To talk about the history a little bit more, if you go to a mourning house in the past, in, tofu soup is served, and that is original style of Yeonpotang. Yeonpotang as a tofu soup is usually boiled with beef, but in the old days, there was no beef available especially in coastal villages, Octopuses are used in Yeonpotang instead of beef. Then, these days as things have changed, many foodies look for octopuses in this seafood style rather than with olds school ways of tofu and beef.

Yeonpotang in the centuries ago, eaten in the Joseon Dynasty is very similar to the fish cake skewers or eomuk we enjoy today, in other words, the way to make or eat Japanese oden. In fact, if you study the origins of Japanese oden, you may find out that instead of sticking fish cake, it originated from applying tofu with soybean paste on a skewer and grilling it or putting tofu skewers and boiling soup.

These days in Korean now know Yeonpotang as Nakjitang.  Here Nakji refers to small octopus that are abundantly caught in tidal flats in the southwest Coast of the country.

We love soft octopuses with soft textures. Normally wherever you go, the restaurants always provide you with a small gas stove as well as pot having ingredients of Yeonpotang.  Therefore, you have control over how long heat is applied to cook and you are not supposed to boil too long not to lose yummy texture of octopus.  It is also a favorite food especially for the elderly and children with weak teeth. In some cases, various seafood including clams are added, and water parsley, radish, and onion are also added. Some specialty stores add seaweed and boil it together, but such practices are not common. Unlike stir-fried octopus, it does not contain spicy and irritating seasoning, so it is a good recommendation for foreigners who are not familiar with something too spicy.

While Leo was busy devouring green beans and flounders, I prepared bomb-shot consisting of Jinro-is-Back (Soju) and Terra bear for me. For this type of bomb-shot or Tejina, The 3:7 is arguably golden ration of mixing, but I recommend you to do your own experiment next time you have a chance.