Stuffed Kampot squid

In this Cambodian recipe for stuffed squid Luke Nguyen admits there are a lot of ingredients but, if you get organised it's pretty straightforward. It is important that the squid is about the right size so that they will be tender when cooked.

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 small squid, about 10–15 cm long, cleaned, reserving the tentacles 
• 50 g minced (ground) pork shoulder 
• ½ carrot, diced 
• 1 tsp oyster sauce, plus 1 tbsp extra 
• 1 tsp sea salt 
• ½ tsp fish sauce 
• ½ tsp liquid palm sugar or shaved palm sugar (jaggery) 
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced 
• 20 g glass noodles 
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil 
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced 
• 2 red Asian shallots, diced 
• 4 snake beans, cut into 10 cm lengths 
• 60 ml sweet fish sauce dressing 
•  2 tbsp fried red Asian shallots 
• red flame flowers, to garnish (optional)

Marinating and soaking time 10 minutes

Instructions

Dice the squid tentacles on a chopping board. Add the pork and carrot and finely mince together using a cleaver or two sharp knives.

Transfer to a mixing bowl, and then add the 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce, the salt, fish sauce, palm sugar and spring onion. Mix well and set aside.

Coat the squid tubes with the extra 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, soak the noodles in a bowl of water for 10 minutes, then drain and cut into 3 cm lengths. Set aside.

Add the vegetable oil, garlic and shallots to a hot wok or frying pan. Stir-fry over high heat for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.

Add the pork mixture and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, or until cooked, then add the noodles and stir-fry for a further minute. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

Stuff each squid tube with the pork mixture, and then close the end of each tube by stuffing it with four snake bean pieces, leaving half the snake beans sticking out of the ends, resembling a squid’s tail.

Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue plate to medium. Chargrill the squid for 8 minutes, or until the stuffing is cooked through, turning the squid often.

Slice the squid in half and drizzle with the sweet fish sauce dressing.

Serve garnished with a sprinkle of fried shallots, and red flame flowers, if desired.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.