This Vegan Spicy Stir Fried Squid (Ojingeo bokkeum) is the the perfect side dish to pair with freshly cooked rice. Made with konjac to replace the squid and loaded with vegetables, this healthy Korean spicy stir fry comes together in under 20 minutes for a quick and easy weeknight meal!
How to Make Spicy Stir Fried Vegan 'Squid'
Ingredients (+Substituions)
To replace the squid, we're using konnyaku (also known as konjac) which is a root vegetable. The dietary fibrous part of the plant is used to make blocks of konnyaku or noodles, which resembles a similar texture to squid or octopus– chewy with a bite. Out of the package, it has a slightly fishy smell and flavour which I thought would work really well in this dish. However, if you don't like that fish-cake like flavour, you can boil it for 3 minutes to remove it. To add a bit more texture and flavour, I also added in shiitake mushrooms. If you don't have access to konjac, this dish works really well with king oyster mushrooms.
As far as vegetables go, you can really use anything you have on hand. For this recipe, I kept it very simple and used vegetables you might typically find at Korean restaurants: onions, carrots, and scallions. Zucchini, cabbage and bell peppers are perfect for this dish too!
For the spicy sauce, it's made up of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, gochujang (Korean red pepper pate), gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes), sugar, oligo rice syrup and black pepper. If you don't have oligo rice syrup on hand, simply replace with more sugar to your liking. Feel free to adjust the level of spiciness too with a lighter or heavier hand of the gochugaru.
Directions
- Prepare the konjac: Remove konjac from the package. If you do not like the fishy flavour of konjac, bring a pot of water to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Otherwise, rinse the konjac and then slice it in half. Cut each half again, you should end up with 4 squares (refer to video). Score each side diagonally about ¼ of an inch of space between each cut.
- Prepare the vegetables: Slice the vegetables into roughly the same size pieces (about 1 ½ inches in length).
- Cook: Over high heat, add 1 ½ tablespoon oil to a large pan. Add the onions, shiitake mushrooms and carrots. Then add the white parts of the scallions. Stir fry the vegetables just until the carrots are wilted and onions are slightly translucent (about 1 ½ minutes). Add the konjac, green part of the scallions and sauce. Stir fry and mix until everything is well coated with the sauce. Turn off the heat, drizzle in sesame oil and sprinkle in sesame seeds. Remove pan from heat and serve immediately with rice.
This spicy, mega flavourful spicy 'squid' stir fry is the perfect side dish alongside rice! You probably won't be left with any leftovers but if you do want to make some ahead of time, keep it in a air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for about 45 seconds or until heated through.
More Vegan Seafood Recipes to Try
- Vegan Poke Bowl with Crispy Tofu
- Vegan Kaki Fry (Japanese Fried Oysters)
- Eggplant Kabayaki (Vegan Unagi Don)
- Vegan Teriyaki 'Salmon'
- Vegetarian Oyster Sauce – coming soon!
- Vegan Mentaiko (Spicy Cod Roe) – coming soon!
- Vegan Dashi – coming soon!
If you recreate this Vegan Spicy Stir-Fried Squid recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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Vegan Spicy Stir-Fried Squid (Ojingeo Bokkeum) 오징어볶음
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
This Vegan Spicy Stir Fried Squid (Ojingeo bokkeum) is the the perfect side dish to pair with freshly cooked rice. Made with konjac to replace the squid and loaded with vegetables, this healthy Korean spicy stir fry comes together in under 20 minutes for a quick and easy weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 1 package white konjac (225g)
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated (approx. 22g)
- ½ onion, sliced (80g)
- ½ carrot, sliced (60g)
- 2 scallions, chopped (35g)
- 2 tsp sesame oil (10g)
- 1-2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (12g)
- ½ inch of ginger, minced (6g)
- ¼ cup soy sauce (60ml)
- 1 tbsp gochujang (20g)
- 3 tbsp gochugaru (24g)
- 3 tbsp cane sugar (38g)
- 1 tbsp oligo rice syrup (20g)
- 1/16 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the konjac: Remove konjac from the package. If you do not like the fishy flavour of konjac, bring a pot of water to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Otherwise, rinse the konjac and then slice it in half. Cut each half again, you should end up with 4 squares (refer to video). Score each side diagonally about ¼ of an inch of space between each cut.
- Prepare the vegetables: Slice the vegetables into roughly the same size pieces (about 1 ½ inches in length).
- Cook: Over high heat, add 1 ½ tablespoon oil to a large pan. Add the onions, shiitake mushrooms and carrots. Then add the white parts of the scallions. Stir fry the vegetables just until the carrots are wilted and onions are slightly translucent (about 1 ½ minutes). Add the konjac, green part of the scallions and sauce. Stir fry and mix until everything is well coated with the sauce. Turn off the heat, drizzle in sesame oil and sprinkle in sesame seeds. Remove pan from heat and serve immediately with rice.
Notes
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: vegan, korean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
Keywords: vegan squid, vegan korean stir fry
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
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Adriana says
I tried already 2 recepie and will surely add this one to the list. I'm sure it will be excellent!
★★★★★
Ellie says
I made this with bell pepper instead of carrot and omg it was so delicious! I have a squid allergy so I’ve never tried the original, but this was so so yummy! Spicy, sweet, savory, great textures. Will definitely be adding this to my rotation of dishes!! Thanks for another great recipe, Lisa!
★★★★★
Smita says
I recently made it my goal to diversify my palate and this way the perfect way for me to experience new textures. This meal was also super easy to put together and I was able to prep and cook everything between my work meetings. I subbed out maple syrup for the rice syrup and sugar and the taste was STILL amazing!
★★★★★
Tiff Loves Tofu says
This was my first time trying konjac and i'm hooked!! it really did taste like squid and the sauce was delicious. i've already made this recipe twice now... haha looking forward to trying more of your recipes!! 😊
★★★★★
Daria says
I did not like konnyaku when I tried for the first time, but it is truly wonderful in this recipe. Really chewy seafood texture and so quick. Loaded with taste and veggies. I will definitely do this again. Thank you for sharing this Lisa!
★★★★★
The_Ginger_Vegay says
Lisa introduced us to this recipe and konnyaku as a versatile ingredient via her IG page. Fab recipe, can't wait to make again. Already pondering how to use konnyaku in other initiative and creative ways in place of squid.
★★★★★
Ai says
I made mine yesterday ( tricked my brother saying it's squid :p) and made a fried rice out of the leftover!
Ps. This recipe made me realize how awful my cutting skill is... gotta go training more!
★★★★★
Nam says
Ok this is sooo good! My favorite Korean dish next to tofu soup! I’m so thankful for your homey recipes and I can’t wait to try others. I couldn’t find konjac blocks so I subbed with king trumpet mushroom + vegan fish sauce instead. I was kind of skeptical about the sub but I was impressed...even my discriminating non vegan mom commented that the texture was truly just like squid! I also appreciate that it had enough spice ( im always tempted to add extra) but this was perfect.
★★★★★
Charlene Tan says
Finally got to make this and it was as yum as it looked! I’ve never had konyaku in non-dessert dishes and it totally works! On to vegan uni and mentaiko next 🙂
★★★★★
Lisa Yu says
So good! I love konyaku recipes, low calories and I enjoy the texture. Though I need to learn how to score mine properly.
★★★★★
Mai says
So yummy, I love konjac but I know my friends who aren't used to to it would love it in this recipe! I don't know what I did wrong but I had so much sauce, so today I'm going to buy more konjac to make more haha. Cheap, more sustainable, and healthier option to real squid. Definitely recommend!
★★★★★