Don't try substituting large octopus for this dish - it's too tough. If you can't find the babies, use small squid instead. Somyeon are Korean thin wheat flour noodles; you can substitute with somen.

But the strangest, most intriguing food I tried was live octopus. It was tough, slimy, and still squirming around even after being chopped into tiny pieces. Not to mention the octopus arms suction ...