Octopus and Cucumber Salad with Gojujan Dressing

I love Korean food. I am always on a hunt for good Korean restaurants and tasty recipes. When I found this jar of Korean gojujun paste at the local farmers market, I was inspired to make all kinds of dishes. The paste can be a little thick, so I recommend diluting it with the rice vinegar if you are using it as a salad dressing. For a lot of recipes that call for soy sauce, a dollop of it would completely change the dishes for you and surprise you.

Tangy and spicy Korean sauce

Octopus and Cucumber Salad With Gojujan Dressing

1/2 cup octopus cooked and sliced
1/2 English cucumber cut bite size

Gojujun Dressing

2 Tbsp gojujan paste
1 Tbsp miso paste
2 Tbsp sushi vinegar
1/2 piece garlic ground or minced
1/2 tsp sesame oil


Mix all the ingredients for dressing in a bowl and set aside
Toss octopus and cucumber with dressing in another bowl (adjust the amount of dressing to your liking)
Garnish with roasted sesame seeds and splash lime or lemon

The dressing and a jar of gojujan paste

The gojujan dressing is red, but it is not too spicy. I make extra dressing for other dishes. It makes a great dipping sauce for your vegetable crudités, too.

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