When dressed up in a spicy, smoky homemade sambal, squid becomes an excellent dish that goes wonderfully with plain steamed rice!
Ingredients: (Served 4)
- 500 g/1 lb 1½ oz squid
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1½ teaspoon dried shrimp paste (belacan)
- 1 red onion, peeled and diced
- 4 tablespoons sambal belacan
- 1½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 scallion (spring onions), cut into short lengths
Method:
Separate squid heads from bodies. Rinse the tubes and set aside. Clean the squid tubes by removing innards. Trim away fins at tail end. Cut open squid tubes. Pull away skin from inside of squid tube and discard.
Turn squid tubes over and remove the purplish skin. Cut squid into 8-cm/3-inch long pieces, then make criss-cross cuts on outside of squid tubes.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add dried shrimp paste and red onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
Add sambal belacan, brown sugar and tomatoes. Increase heat and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved and tomatoes break down into pulp. Reduce heat to low and leave to simmer until sauce is reduced to a thick consistency.
Add squid and stir-fry for about 4 minutes or until it is cooked.
Dish out, garnish with scallions and serve immediately.