Yeonpotang

About the dish

In yeonpotang, 'yeon' means soft and 'po' means tofu — a word that can also mean foam. The original yeonpotang was in fact a tofu dish, its pieces skewered and fried in oil or simmered into a soup with chicken, long before today's octopus version took the name.

Key ingredient

Octopus (nakji) — so rich in taurine for energy and stamina it's called 'ginseng of the mudflats'; low-fat and high-protein, with iron to help support healthy iron levels. Autumn season, mainly from Muan and the west coast.

Ingredients

Live octopus 1kg (4), water dropwort (minari) 30g, green chilies 30g (2), red chilies 30g (2), scallion 10g (1/4 stalk), water 1.6L (8 cups), minced garlic 1 Tbsp, salt to taste, sesame oil a dash, whole sesame seeds a pinch

Simple recipe

1. Soak the live octopus in salted water, rubbing down the tentacles, and rinse clean in cold water.
2. Trim the water dropwort and cut into 5cm lengths, then slice the scallion on the diagonal (0.3cm).
3. Seed the green and red chilies and mince them.
4. Pour water into a pot, add the octopus, water dropwort, scallion, minced chilies and minced garlic, and boil until the broth turns red.
5. Season with salt and finish with sesame oil and whole sesame seeds.

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