Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.
I decided to be “brave” and try the Korean octopus dish on my Korean Air flight from Seoul to Hong Kong. Sadly, I had deep regrets…
Stir-Fried Octopus In Korean Air Prestige Class
Earlier this week I shared about my four-journey on the 777-300ER in Prestige business class from Seoul to Hong Kong on Korean Air. While the journey was pleasant overall, I thought my unique dinner qualified for a separate Meal of the Week post.
Korean Air has a pre-order menu available on most of its flights in business class. For my flight, I was offered the following choices (which not only include options that would be available onboard if you did not pre-order, but two additional options exclusively available via pre-ordering):
I probably should have chosen the beef sirloin bulgogi, but I do like octopus…it’s a starter I am likely to order whenever I see it on a menu after the amazing octopus I enjoyed at The Brando.
Flight attendants confirmed my pre-order and were a little skeptical, warning me the dish was quite spicy.
While the dish was not too spicy for me, the flavors and textures did not work for me and I only ate about half of it. Ordinarily, I love octopus but this was so rubbery and chewy and the soup was far too salty. Seaweed has always been a nemesis.
A flight attendant graciously offered to bring me another dish on the menu when she saw I did not finish, but I was full…I had enjoyed a nice meal in the first class lounge. However, I should have ordered the beef tenderloin with thyme sauce…Korean Air does Western food very well.
I wish bibimbap had been on the menu…but the octopus was a miss for me.
This post reeks of privilege and ignorance. Complaining about “rubbery” octopus isn’t just lazy—it ignores the fact that in North Korea, this dish is a rare delicacy, a testament to resilience in a land of scarcity. The chewy texture he whines about isn’t a flaw; it’s tradition. Dismissing it with a flippant “miss for me” doesn’t just show a lack of taste—it shows a lack of perspective. Safe in his first-class lounge, the author couldn’t begin to understand what this meal truly represents.
ROTFL. Sure buddy, whatever you say.
I think it was cooked in the right way…for Korean cuisine. As a Korean myself, I confirm Koreans prefer hard and chewy texture. So they don’t cook octopus for long. That’s a smaller kind of octopus, then it’s supposed to be cooked only for a couple minutes to “keep” the chewy texture.
In Korean cuisine, beef/pork/chicken are cooked for long to make them tender, but octopus should be undercooked on purpose.
If you didn’t like it, don’t try Korean octopus from next time.. Fish andshellfish are fine. They’re not that chewy or hard.
Yes, of course. I was glad to try it but know better for next time.
Might have made the same mistake. The Portuguese really do octopus nicely – best I’ve ever had was at Luzmar in Cascais outside of Portugal. Fried in olive oil with potatoes. Fresh, tender and delicious.
I came here to say the same thing. In general I love all kinds of Asian food, but the Portuguese way of cooking octopus is absolutely brilliant.
Checked the Brando octopus photo. It may have been first simmered low & slow then marinaded then fired on the grill. This would achieve a tender texture. Just a guess
This looks delicious!
You can have it!
Thanks for reporting on this one. I would have been afraid to try it.
Like others said, I don’t think there was anything wrong with the dish – Koreans do like their octopus chewy, and their spicy sauces tend to contain a fair amount of salt and even sugar. I love the country and its food, but I can see that it might not be to everyone’s taste.
When octopus is not cleansed properly it becomes tough.