This stuffed squid is one of our favorite Vietnamese home foods as it brings back cherished childhood memories. Delicious and flavorful, it pairs wonderfully with either rice or warm bread and a side salad. Instead of the regular tomato sauce, we use Matriark Foods' Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce. Matriark Foods upcycles farm surplus and fresh-cut remnants into healthy and scrumptious vegetable products. Their tomato sauce is perfectly seasoned, so no extra seasonings are needed!
520 grams (about 4 medium sized squids) arrow squid 225 grams (about ½ lb) ground pork 10 grams dried wood ear mushrooms 1 box of Matriark’s Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce 10 grams (1 tablespoon) Coastal Purple Shallot 10 grams (1 tablespoon) Northern Mountain Garlic, minced 1 teaspoon Sparrow Ginger 1.5 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon cooking oi l½ teaspoon ground black pepper One bunch of scallions
Rehydrate all dried Vân Vân's aromatics for 2 minutes. Roughly chop the rehydrated shallots. Divide the aromatics into two parts.
Soak the wood ear mushrooms until softened, then roughly chop.
Thoroughly clean the squids and pat them dry.
Separate the white and green parts of the scallions, and slice them. Save them separately.
In a small bowl, combine ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, one part of the Vân Vân's aromatics, the white part of the scallions, sugar, fish sauce, and black pepper. Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes.
Spoon stuff the pork mixture loosely into each squid, leaving about 1 inch open at the top. Close with a toothpick along with the tentacle.
Bring a steamer to a boil, add the stuffed squids, and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat or until the squids are fully cooked. If you don’t have a steamer, heat up neutral oil in a pan and pan-fry the squids.
In a separate pan, heat up oil. Add the remaining garlic, ginger, and shallots, and stir quickly. Add Matriark’s Spicy Arrabbiata sauce.
Add the steamed squids to the sauce and let simmer for 15 minutes, turning the squids halfway so they are evenly coated in the sauce.
Once the squids are fully covered in tomato sauce, turn off the heat and serve! Sprinkle scallions over the squids for extra colors and flavors.
