''San-nakji'' () is a variety of ''
hoe
Hoe or HOE may refer to:
* Hoe (food), a Korean dish of raw fish
* Hoe (letter), a Georgian letter
* Hoe (tool), a hand tool used in gardening and farming
** Hoe-farming, a term for primitive forms of agriculture
* Backhoe, a piece of excavating ...
'' (raw dish) made with
long arm octopus (''Octopus minor''), a small octopus species called ''nakji'' in Korean and is sometimes translated into "baby octopus" due to its relatively small size compared to the
giant octopus (''Enteroctopus dofleini'').
The octopuses are most commonly killed before being cut into small pieces and served, with the nerve activity in the octopus' tentacles making the pieces move posthumously on the plate whilst served. The octopus' highly complex
nervous system
In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes ...
, with two-thirds of its
neuron
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa ...
s localised in the nerve cords of its arms, lets the octopus show a variety of
reflex
In biology, a reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary, unplanned sequence or action and nearly instantaneous response to a stimulus.
Reflexes are found with varying levels of complexity in organisms with a nervous system. A reflex occurs ...
actions that persist even when they have no input from the brain. Less commonly, a live octopus is eaten whole. The dish is sprinkled with
sesame oil and toasted
sesame
Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cul ...
seeds.
Eating
Because the suction cups on the arm pieces are still active when the dish is served, special care should be taken when eating sannakji. The active suction cups can cause swallowed pieces of arm to stick to the mouth or throat. This can also present a choking hazard for some people, particularly if they are intoxicated.
Language difference
Vocabularies in the two Koreas differ on ''nakji'': South Koreans call ''
Octopus minor'', a small kind of octopus (often mistranslated as "baby octopus") ''nakji'', while North Koreans call a
squid
True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fittin ...
''nakji'' (''nakchi'' in
McCune–Reischauer
McCune–Reischauer romanization () is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems. A modified version of McCune–Reischauer was the official romanization system in South Korea until 2002, when it was replaced by the R ...
romanization).
Prevalence
''Sannakji'' is served in
Korean restaurant
Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural env ...
s that serve sliced raw fish, but it also can be found at bars as a snack to accompany alcoholic beverages, such as
soju.
Health hazard
Consuming ''sannakji'' is potentially dangerous due to
choking hazard. Because the cephalopod's limbs contain neurons, the extremities continue to move and the suction cups along its tentacles maintain their gripping power that might attach to one's throat, even after getting detached from the body and doused with sesame oil. Several incidents of choking on ''Sannakji'' have been reported, such as a 2008 incident in
Gwangju
Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial offic ...
.
Yonhap News
Yonhap News Agency is a major South Korean news agency. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap provides news articles, pictures and other information to newspapers, TV networks and other media in South Korea.
History
Yonhap (, , translit ...
2008-01-2
광주서 산낙지 먹다 기도막힌 사고 잇따라
/ref>
See also
* '' Drunken shrimp'', shrimp sometimes eaten alive in Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many o ...
* ''Ikizukuri
, also known as , (roughly translated as "prepared alive") is the preparing of sashimi (raw fish) from live seafood. In this Japanese culinary technique, the most popular sea animal used is fish, but octopus, shrimp, and lobster may also be used. ...
'', the preparation of sashimi
is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Origin
The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺 し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...
from living animals
* ''Odori ebi
is a sushi delicacy of Japan, and a form of sashimi. The sushi contains baby shrimp that are still alive and able to move their legs and antennae while being eaten. The meal is prepared quickly to keep the shrimp alive, and when it is eaten th ...
'', shrimp eaten alive in Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan ( Japanese: ) is based on rice with miso soup and oth ...
References
{{Seafood
Korean cuisine
Octopus dishes
Cruelty to animals
Dishes involving the consumption of live animals
Potentially dangerous food