Even today, eating live octopuses is considered an unheard-of exotic in all countries except Korea, where this dish is a delicacy. Despite the unattractive appearance, long tentacles and rigid body, live octopuses are readily consumed in Korean restaurants. However, it is very, very difficult to eat these marine life alive.
Preparation of the octopus
Octopuses have a large head, eight sticky strong tentacles and tiny eyes. In addition, their bodies contain ink that can be poisonous. Korean chefs prepare the octopus for eating in the following way: they squeeze its rather strong body so that salt water leaves it. After that, the octopus weakens - and after cutting the ink bag it loses consciousness. Then the chef cuts its tentacles into pieces to make it easier for gourmets to eat them - while the cut pieces remain alive for another three hours.
Some Koreans eat the octopus without cutting, biting off pieces from its tentacles with just their teeth.
Fresh and still alive octopuses stick to the oral cavity and continue to fight for their lives, clinging to the tongue with numerous suction cups. This is very dangerous, since there have been several cases when the octopus, when swallowed, clung to the walls of the throat with suckers and the person died of suffocation. However, octopus meat is quite easy to chew, the only problem is the sticking of this dish to the tongue, teeth and inner surface of the cheeks. Usually, octopus tentacles are simply wrapped around sticks and placed in the mouth.
Alternative
If you still want to try the octopus, but the extreme version with a live dish is not suitable, you can take a chance and try the “octopus dancing in rice”. For its preparation, a dead main component is used, the tentacles of which are poured with soy sauce when serving. The sodium in the sauce triggers a reaction in the cells of the tentacles, which leads to the release of free ions that "tickle" the nerve endings of the octopus. Thus, the dish begins to dance effectively on the plate, scattering grains of rice around.
A similar effect is observed when serving squid under soy sauce - their nerve fibers are completely exposed, since they do not have a protective myelin sheath.
However, eating a live octopus has its own sacred and ritual meaning - according to Koreans, a person who dares to do this has extraordinary personal qualities and a fighting character. This dish is often consumed by people practicing ancient martial arts - in this way they train their concentration and endurance. The rest may well satisfy their curiosity in the company of a dancing octopus corpse.
