I have a yen for spicy tako poke, and I don’t expect to find any for sale outside of Hawaii. That means making it myself, which means cooking an octopus. I just recently found lovely raw octopi at a local latino market, so I’m giving it a go this weekend.
What’s the scoop on cooking an octopus so that it doesn’t come out all rubbery and tough? Has anyone here ever cooked any? Thanks for any tips.
I swear that the only use for octopi, other than sushi, is to throw them on the ice during a Red Wings playoff game.
Ah, my dear adam yax, I’m betting you’ve never tasted the goodness of tako poke, a variation of the raw tuna ahi poke served in Hawaii. Cooked octopus is sliced into coin-shaped slices and mixed with fiery Korean chili paste, sweet raw Maui onion, minced ginger and garlic and toasted sesame seeds. It’s chewy, tender, crisp, spicy and sweet all at the same time and served well-chilled with plenty of cold beer to cool down the heat.
Dee-lish, I tell you.
First of all, I am sorry. I meant to say that the only other use for octopi that I know of…
And yes, that does sound very, very tasty. To the point were I may have to try it sometime, but probably not with octopus. I do imagine that the aroma of cooking octopus would be overwhelming.
I’ve never done it, but Mario Batali says to cook them in boiling water with a cork thrown in. Something about the enzymes in the cork keeps the octopus from getting rubbery and tough.
May be total crap, but Mario isn’t wrong that often.
I had some of the most tender tako last month. The guy who prepared (and caught) it said he soaks it in a white wine (chardonnay? don’t remember if he specified) overnight before boiling.