Baby Octopus – AMCARMEN'S KITCHEN

Hello Everyone! It’s the second week of Seafood Month and I’ve got something that is very simple to make, but quite possibly not commonly seen here in Brunei. I say that because for instance, I don’t exactly know where you can get fresh octopus from here in Brunei; I’ve not seen it in the markets around here before. Now you’re probably thinking, then where the heck did I get fresh octopus from for tonight’s recipe? Well, I made this dish when I was back in Sydney because I knew wouldn’t be able to cook this up when I got to Brunei. Plus, I really like this dish so I made sure I ate a satisfying amount of it before I went into deprivation.

I came across this recipe when I was at the Sydney Fish Market, I can’t remember who I was with, but we went seafood shopping. Just at the entrance of Peter’s Seafood, and the one a little bit further down the building near the fruits and veggie store (I forgot what the name of the market is called), there are these little recipe flyers that you can pick up for free. I think I took one of every recipe that they had 😛 So they had a recipe for Octopus and Chorizo Salad that I just had to try out! If you manage to get your hands on some baby octopus, I highly recommend you try this recipe out! It’s definitely a favourite of mine 🙂

PREP TIME 5 MINS* | COOKING TIME 6-8 MINS | SERVES 4

*Add 1-2 hours extra for marination time

INGREDIENTS

For the octopus marinade

400g baby octopus, washed and cleaned
1 lemon, juiced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp olive oil

For the salad

1 bag (200g) mixed salad leaves
2 chorizo sausage, sliced
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced

METHOD

Combine all the ingredients needed to marinate the baby octopus in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside to marinate for about 1-2 hours or preferably, overnight. Before frying the baby octopi, make sure you pat dry them first.
Heat a little bit of vegetable oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium-high, and fry the chorizo slices until golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up any extra oils.
In the same frying pan, add the baby octopi in batches, and fry until it is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining octopi.
Combine all the other ingredients for the salad in a large bowl together with the chorizo slices and baby octopi. Toss together and drizzle with a little bit of the sundried tomato oil.
Serve and enjoy!