[Easy Home Cooking] Beat the Heat with Cold Beer and Baek Jong-won's Stir-Fried Squid Recipe

▲ (Photo credit: © Getty Images Bank)

Spicy stir-fried squid, one of the best-known squid dishes, makes an excellent and easy appetizer to prepare at home. With catches of squid, which is in season in July, surging, delicious squid is also available at lower prices. Besides stir-fried squid, dipping blanched squid in cho-gochujang is another good way to revive a lost appetite.

Baek Jong-won's Foolproof Stir-Fried Squid Recipe

Baek Jong-won's recipes are known for foolproof combinations. This dish is especially popular among novice home cooks and people living alone because it is easy to make at home simply by following his recipe with in-season squid. For Baek Jong-won's stir-fried squid, you will need ▲squid ▲green onion ▲onion ▲cabbage ▲carrot ▲Cheongyang chili peppers and ▲cooking oil. For the sauce, all you need is ▲soy sauce ▲gochujang ▲red pepper powder ▲sugar ▲minced garlic ▲sesame oil and ▲water. You can also serve the stir-fried squid over rice to make a squid rice bowl.

1. Add cooking oil to a pan, then add finely chopped green onion and stir-fry to make green onion oil. 

2. First, combine the soy sauce, gochujang, red pepper powder and minced garlic for the sauce. 

3. When the green onion turns golden, add the squid and sugar and stir-fry. 

4. Once the squid is partially cooked, add the prepared sauce and continue stir-frying. 

5. Mix in the sauce thoroughly, add a little water and, once it comes to a boil, add the vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces and stir-fry everything together. 

▲ (Photo credit: © Getty Images Bank)

Blanching Squid

Timing is important when blanching squid. Blanching it for too long can make it tough. Proper blanching or boiling is the most important part of preparing squid sukhoe. Remove the squid's innards, then wash it thoroughly. Score the squid to improve its texture. Bring water to a boil in a pot with about half a spoonful of salt. Once the water boils, add the squid and blanch it for 20–40 seconds. Because squid becomes tougher the longer it is blanched, it is important to blanch it quickly. Shake off the excess water from the tender blanched squid, cut it into bite-sized pieces and serve it with cho-gochujang, minari and blanched scallions.