Soft Jinmichae Muchim (Seasoned Dried Squid Strips) Without Mayonnaise

Ingredients

• If the dried squid strips are too long, cut them into bite-sized pieces first.
• If you are concerned about food additives, you can also rinse them lightly under running water and thoroughly remove the moisture with paper towels.

Steps

1. Prepare the ingredients

   

   This is 1 bag of dried squid strips, 150 g. Lightly grabbed, it is about two handfuls.

   

   If the dried squid strips are too long, they are inconvenient to pick up, so cut them to bite-sized lengths first.

2. Stir-fry the dried squid strips

   

   

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   Add the dried squid strips to a pan with 2 tbsp of mirin (cooking rice wine) and stir-fry over medium-low heat until tender.

   As the temperature gradually rises, the stiff dried squid strips become moist and soft. This also removes any off-odors from the dried squid strips.

   This is just for reference:

   In my original recipe, I used to rinse the dried squid strips once in running water and pat them dry to remove additives and off-odors while adding moisture.

   If you are worried about food additives, lightly rinsing them and thoroughly wiping off the moisture with paper towels is another good method.

3. Boil the seasoning

   

   

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   Add the listed seasonings—1 tbsp cooking oil, 1/2 tbsp gochugaru (preferably fine), 2 tbsp gochujang, 1 tbsp regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang), 1/2 tbsp minced garlic, 2 tbsp corn syrup (mulyeot), and 1/2 tbsp sugar. It seemed too thick, so I added 3 tbsp of water and brought it to a bubbling boil.

   Once it comes to a full boil, turn off the heat and let it cool.

   If you boil the seasoning for too long, it thickens; when it cools down, the lack of moisture can cause the dried squid strips to turn hard.

4. Toss together

   

   

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   Once the seasoning has cooled down a bit, pour it over the dried squid strips and toss evenly.

   Tossing while it still has a lukewarm warmth rather than when it is completely cold helps the sauce cling closely to the dried squid strips.

   If you want to use mayonnaise, you would usually add about a tablespoon after tossing to adjust the consistency, but this was plenty good on its own, so I finished it here.

   

   Finish by adding just a little toasted sesame oil, about 1/2 tbsp, and a generous 1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds.

5. Finished

   

   I didn't take this photo right after finishing the dried squid strips; I put them in the refrigerator and took the photo the next day after taking them out.

   If you give everything a good stir so it mixes with the sauce settled at the bottom of the container, it becomes moist again like this.

   

   This is a tender dish with the pleasant chewiness of dried squid strips.

   The reason dried squid strip side dishes turn hard is a lack of moisture, so I think the key trick is to avoid boiling off the moisture for too long and then tossing.

   I hope yours turns out great.

Ppunwife's tips

• If you boil the seasoning for too long, it thickens; when it cools down, the lack of moisture can cause the dried squid strips to turn hard.
• Tossing while it still has a lukewarm warmth rather than when it is completely cold helps the sauce cling closely to the dried squid strips.
• After taking it out of the refrigerator, give everything a good stir so it mixes with the sauce settled at the bottom of the container to make it moist again.

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