Muc ong nhoi thit hap sa gives pale, tender rings of squid around a savory filling scented with lemongrass. The difficulty is getting the amount of filling right, since a tightly packed body pushes it out during steaming.
Each body is filled only loosely, leaving about 2cm at the opening before it is pinned with a toothpick. It steams over medium heat for 13 minutes, then the onion, celery and ginger are scattered around it for a final 2 minutes.
This batch weighs about 1.5kg, at roughly 94 calories per 100g.
Method
Pull the heads out of the squid bodies, pinch off the ink sacs and the beaks between the tentacles. Remove the quills and peel away the slippery membrane inside.
Rub the squid with coarse salt and ginger wine to clear any smell, rinse thoroughly and drain.
Finely chop the wood ear mushroom, carrot, onion, shallot, garlic, ginger and spring onion whites, then mix them with 130g ground pork and 50g gio song.
Season the filling with 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon MSG, 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, 1 teaspoon oyster sauce and 1 teaspoon fish sauce. Work it together and leave it 10 to 15 minutes.
Prepare the steaming vegetables: cut the onion into wedges, the celery into 4 to 5cm lengths, the red horn chili on the diagonal, the ginger into strips, and bruise and cut the lemongrass.
Spoon the filling into the squid bodies, leaving them loosely packed with about 2cm clear at the opening, tuck the heads back in and pin them with toothpicks.
Put water and the bruised lemongrass in the pot, bring it to a boil, arrange the squid in the steamer basket, cover and steam over medium heat for 13 minutes.
Take off the lid, scatter the onion, celery, ginger, chili and spring onion whites around the squid, cover again and steam 2 minutes more.
A toothpick that comes out clean means the filling is cooked. Lift the squid onto a plate, cut it into rings and serve with ginger, garlic and chili fish sauce or with salt, pepper and lime.
Tips
Thick, large squid bodies are much easier to fill than small ones.
Fill loosely and leave about 2cm at the opening, which is what keeps the filling from pushing out.
Lay lemongrass and onion in the base of the steamer with the squid on top, so the lemongrass steam carries the raw smell away.
Pinning the opening shut with a toothpick before steaming holds the filling inside the body.
Let the squid cool for a few minutes before slicing, since rings cut piping hot tend to fall apart.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.