As I dip my toes into middle age, I am surprised to find myself feeling so zen at conforming to many generalizations on aging. For example, I can now withstand the near-boiling temperatures of onsen better than ever, even if that means I emerge the color of a well-cooked cephalopod.
Fortunately, my growing enthusiasm for dad jokes also served as culinary inspiration in this case. Would tako (octopus) do as well after a long, hot bath as I seem to?
As it turns out, long and slow is actually a fantastic way to cook octopus. Slow-cooking meat is common, but not so with seafood, where fast is usually better. Flash-fried, calamari keeps soft, but most seafood, especially squid, cuttlefish and octopus, becomes tough and rubbery after cooking for a medium length of time.
The catch with slow-cooking is that we don't all have precision sous vide machines, but a solution presented itself to me when I bought a yogurt maker. Along with its yogurt setting, it has a 60 degree Celsius setting for making homemade amazake (sweet, low-alcohol sake). As luck would have it, this is exactly the temperature we need for a 24-hour cook that turns tough octopus into tender tentacles, connective tissue and skin. Depending on your rice cooker, the warming function may also work as long as it can reach between 60 and 65 degrees.
Once slow-cooked, octopus is easy to slice and delightfully soft to eat. This makes it a perfect addition to any number of recipes, including the ever-popular takoyaki (octopus dumplings).
For a different take on tako, try using them as a taco filler alongside a version of Mexican esquites (toasted corn salad). In mine, corn and cheese are thickened up with a little popcorn for a more solid center. If you can source masa (store-bought corn or wheat work just as well), I recommend making your own tortillas from scratch. Don’t be shy about adding your own favorite taco toppings either.
Recipe:
Serves 2 (3 tacos each)
Prep time: 1 day for sous vide plus 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 15-centimeter tortillas
- 250 grams octopus tentacle
- 50 milliliters milk
- 15 milliliters rice bran oil
- 12 shishito peppers
- 250 grams corn kernels
- 4 cloves garlic
- 30 grams green onions, chopped
- 125 grams goat cheese (or other soft white), crumbled
- 1 large lime, halved
- 10 grams popped popcorn, crumbled
- Hot sauce (optional)
Method:
1. The day before, place the octopus in an airtight freezer bag and add the milk. Be sure to squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing.
2. Fill your yogurt maker or rice cooker to the top with warm water. Set at 60 or 65 celsius and submerge the airtight bag with your octopus. Leave for 24 hours.
3. Remove the octopus and pat dry. Save the milk for later.
4. In a hot frying pan, sear the octopus until it gains color, then set aside to rest.
5. To make the corn salad, blister the outside of your shishito and lime, then set aside.
6. In the same pan, add the corn and garlic and pan-fry until dark gold.
7. Add half the milk to deglaze. Turn off the heat, then mix in the green onions.
8. Remove the pan from heat, then add cheese and crumbled popcorn along with the juice from half a lime and mix to lightly combine.
9. Warm your tortillas in a dry pan (for softer tortillas, use a microwave) and top each with a large spoonful of corn salad.
10. Thinly slice the octopus and arrange on top of corn salad, then season. Thinner tentacles can be left whole.
11. Top with the shishito and finish with another squeeze of lime. Add hot sauce to taste.
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