When I was a young school girl in Korea, lunch time was always the happiest moment during the entire day at school. We didn’t have any school cafeteria where I could purchase a lunch, which means my mother always had to make a lunchbox for me. Well, she had to make 5 of them because she had 5 children. What a work for her!
I didn’t realize how much of an effort she had to put to make 5 lunchboxes every morning until I became a mother and made lunchbox for my children. The difference is that I only need to make 2 and I do it every once in a while.
There was one lunchbox dish that my mother often made. It was the spicy shredded squid side dish. Chewy with slightly sweet and spicy seasoning, it was one my absolute favorite.
The shredded squid is called “jinmichae (진미채)”. You can find it in a Korean grocery store. Some people like to eat the way it is right out of the package. My daughter loves to eat it as a snack. Quite tasty.
It is super easy to make and you can store this side dish in the fridge quite a long time, about 2 weeks.
First, rinse out the shredded squid in water, then squeeze out to remove the excess water. Set aside.
In a non-stick skillet, combine all the sauce ingredients.
Bring them to boil and thicken.
Add the shredded squids and toss well to coat evenly all over.
Sprinkle some sesame seeds and it is good to go.
I will tell you one simple thing you can make with this spicy shredded squid. Make Kimbap with it! All you need is rice, this spicy squid and some crunch vegetable of your choice. Spread over a sheet of seaweed, then roll it up. You will love the taste.
As I mentioned, this side dish stores very well, about 2 weeks. So you get to enjoy for a long time. Mine never lasted that long, though. Hope you get to find the shredded squid and try yourself.
~ Holly
Spicy Shredded Squid
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb Korean shredded squid
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons Korean chili paste (gochujang)
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Rinse the shredded squid in the water a few times, then squeeze out to remove the excess water. Set aside.
- In a non-stick skillet, cook garlic until fragrant and add the rest of the ingredient except the sesame seeds. Bring to gentle boil and thicken.
- Add the shredded squid and toss well to coat evenly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and toss. Serve at room temperature.
What was the brand of shredded squid you used?
When I was little my mom always made my lunch, too. Always an adventure to see what she put in it! She never did squid, though, shredded, spicy, or otherwise. Wish she had! This looks wonderful — thanks.
one of my favorites too…i miss Korean food really! I wish I can have on my birthday…
I used to make this dish and my family loved it until the news came out that if the dry squid is from China, it might be make out of plastic! I kid you not. Your recipe looks so good, I might venture out and look for dry squid again. But not made in China though.
That is just so terrible! I even heard that they make fake rice with plastic and mix with real rice to sell in China. Why would they do such a horrible thing to their people? I just don’t understand.
This is absolutely one of my all-time favorite snacks! And I’m so glad I read it all, I will do my best to stay away from dried squid from China. Wow 🙁
i bet this would be good with some rice noodles hummm
Thank you for sharing your recipe for taegu.