Squid Sausage

Last night my wife had a craving for 오징어 순대, so I braved the near-freezing temperatures and biked down to Daepo Harbour to buy some for her. I’m not complaining though—there aren’t many other places in Korea where you can find this tasty dish.

Ojingeo sundae(stuffed squid) is one of the specialties of Sokcho, and should be on the must-try list of anyone visiting here. A fresh squid is stuffed with rice, pork, and vegetables, then steamed until cooked through. Just before eating, the squid is sliced and fried in butter or oil. If you like, you can dip them in red pepper paste, but they taste so good, it’s a shame to mask their flavour.

The best place to find ojingeo sundae is at Daepo Harbour, which you can see just as you enter Sokcho from the South on Highway 7. The price decreases as you walk away from the highway, and at the outdoor vendors towards the far end of the harbour, you can buy 3 squid for 10,000 won. In a restaurant, expect to pay 10,000 won or more each. I find the ones sold outdoors to be just as good if not better than those from the restaurants.

In Korea, Ojingeo 오징어 is usually referred to as squid, but according to Leon from Korean Foods Translated, they are properly known as cuttlefish.

Sokcho is famous for its squid boats. On calm evenings, the ocean skyline along the Gangwon coast is speckled with the lights from the powerful light bulbs strung on top of the boats to attract the night’s catch. The lights are so powerful, most fishermen wear sunglasses as they work through the night, and the exposed skin on their faces and arms are burned by the radiation from the bulbs.