I know, I know — to each, his own eats. But this video of freshly-offed octopus on a restaurant table in Korea made me squirm more than the tentacles therein. Cyrus Farivar shot, uploaded, and tentatively nibbled. "They calm down after a little while, but then when you go after them again, they start up again," he says, "It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen brought to a dinner table." Video Link.
Reader comment: M. Hwang says,
If you've ever seen the Korean movie Old Boy (I'd highly recommend it, though it's also a bit disturbing), there's a scene in it where the protagonist eats a live octopus on camera. As he chomps down on it, the tentacles move along his face. The actor, CHOI Min-sik, is a devout Buddhist, and apparently he prayed/begged forgiveness after each take. Video link.
And ROFL, someone out there suggests that this is a Klingon dish: Link.
Korean Cuisine Geek and BB reader stylimitsu says,
OMG! Are you kidding me? My mouth is STILL watering after checking that video out! Seriously. Funny what turns different people on, huh?
The way it was prepared in the video makes it seem pretty tame. The sauce actually lubricates the tentacles, making them easier to manipulate in the mouth and, thus, chew properly (trust me, you gotta chew the hell out of these things). It also makes them easier to pick up with chopsticks, as, without the sauce, the little suckers (hah!) grip tenaciously to the smooth surface of the plate. That's why sliced tentacles will often be served on top of leaves (on top of plates).
Okay, I'm really getting hungry now…
Spluch says,
Yeah, I have been to South Korea sometime ago and encountered this "store" which was selling live octopus next to a rocky shore. According to the local tour guide, one has to chew really fast to prevent the suckers from getting stuck onto the teeth. Also, divers (woman) who catches these stuffs on the spot needs to be able to dive to a depth of some 50 to 100 feet all while holding their breath without the use of diving equipment. The end result of holding such long breaths is that these divers don't actually live long.
ray says,
Just read the squirming octopus post on BoingBoing! I was in Korea some 2 years ago and posted a similar breakdown on my own site – it includes videos of flopping fish and waving sea urchins. Live. And of course, we're eating them. Doesn't get any fresher than that! And now I'm getting hungry too… Link.
bob dole says,
Also see the related behind the scenes footage from Oldboy: youTube Link. (BTW I, being from the middle of the north american continent, say it's gross, but it makes my Korean wife totally hungry :))
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