This is how Mark Noguchi’s recipe for octopus begins: “Take he‘e and turn head inside out, cut out ink sac, mouth parts and guts.”

Yeah, I’m not going to do that.

The dish Noguchi has planned for Urban Luau, a Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival event on Sept. 9, is called Mangrove Grilled He‘e and involves four hours of braising — after the cleaning portion mentioned above and 15 minutes or so of pounding with his fists to tenderize it. To be specific: He puts the octopus in a 5-gallon bucket and punches it “until there’s no more slime.”

It is a fabulous dish, but one requiring much physical effort. Asked to simplify, Noguchi provided the recipe below, starting with a precooked octopus like one you’d find at an Asian market. It’s a reasonable facsimile but probably won’t be as silky-tender as his punched-out version.

Noguchi killed and cooked his first octopus at age 19 when his then-girlfriend’s family took him to Puako on Hawaii island and handed him a spear gun. “OK, Oahu boy, we going look for he‘e,” is how the excursion began. So he poked around the rocks and came up with a small, 1-pound octopus, which they boiled in beer and turned into tako poke. “I remember feeling so accomplished.”

Since then he has cooked many octopuses — “and had a couple nice epic fails.” He has learned, for example, not to undercook (makes it tough), overcook (makes it mushy) or add too many ingredients (hides the natural flavor).

By the way, there are alternatives to tenderizing via fist. Noguchi met women on the Big Island who kept old washing machines in their garages just for octopus prep. The creature went into the tub, and the agitator did the pounding.

Where there’s a will …

Speaking of which: For those who’d like to prepare this dish from scratch, Noguchi’s way, instructions are at the end.

Grilled He‘e With Ragu Sauce

» 2-pound whole octopus, precooked
» 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
» 1 onion, sliced
» 1 whole head garlic, peeled and chopped
» 1/2 cup red wine
» 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
» 2 bay leaves
» 2 Hawaiian chili peppers, minced
» 1 cup roughly chopped Italian parsley
» Fresh cracked pepper and salt, to taste

For garnish:
» Watercress sprigs, thinly sliced green onion and crema (see note)
» 1 lime

Cut legs off octopus and set aside for grilling. Chop head and body.

To make ragu: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in saute pan over high until shimmering. Add onions and garlic; stir until translucent. Add wine, lower heat and let simmer until reduced by 3/4. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, chili peppers and chopped octopus pieces. Simmer 1 hour, until octopus is tender and flavors have merged. Stir in parsley, pepper and remaining 4 tablespoons oil.

Quickly grill octopus legs over hot fire until slightly charred. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Serve octopus over ragu. Top with watercress and green onion; dot with crema. Squeeze lime juice over all. Serves 3-4.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Note: Crema is a Mexican cream sauce. For a quick substitute, mix equal parts sour cream with heavy cream.

Variation: For those starting with a whole uncooked octopus, clean and tenderize as stated above. Heat a heavy pot over high until “ripping hot,” then add a thin layer of olive oil, the octopus, juice of 2 lemons, several dry chili peppers, a halved onion with skin, a whole head of garlic cut in half at the equator, and 4 bay leaves. Watch out for splattering. Let sit 15 minutes, then turn the octopus. Reduce heat and let simmer about 4 hours, until tender. Liquid will come out of the octopus to provide braising fluid.

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