Anyone back from Ha Long tends to look up hand pounded squid cakes. The cakes are springy and full of fresh squid aroma. The difficulty is pounding them sticky while keeping some texture, since going too far turns them mealy.
The squid is pounded with a pestle until slightly smooth but still bouncy, never blended fine. Tapioca starch goes in at the end to bind the mixture.
This batch weighs about 460g, at roughly 188 calories per 100g.
Method
Wash the squid and pound it by hand with a pestle until sticky and slightly smooth but still springy, stopping well short of a blended paste.
Put the pounded squid in a large bowl with 100g ground pork, the minced shallot and garlic, 1 chicken egg, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon seasoning powder. Mix until well combined.
Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons tapioca starch to bind and mix until slightly tacky, neither dry nor wet. Shape into small balls, rolled round or pressed flat as you like.
Heat a pan with enough oil, and when it is hot, fry the cakes over medium heat, turning to color both sides until golden and lightly crisp.
Drain the cakes on paper and serve hot with sweet and sour fish sauce and fresh herbs.
Tips
Medium squid works best, as very large ones pound up mealy and taste less sweet.
A little oil on the hands before shaping stops the mixture from sticking.
Medium heat is right, since high heat browns the outside while the center is still raw.
Ten minutes of resting in the fridge after mixing gives the cakes more bounce.
Pound by hand until the squid turns sticky but still has bite, as a blender loses the Ha Long character completely.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.