Vietnamese Stuffed Calamari (Muc Nhoi Thit)

Ingredients

• 30 small to medium cleaned calamari
• Toothpicks (to seal the calamari)
• Fish sauce dipping sauce
• 1/2 lb ground pork (plus any tentacles from the calamari, minced)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 shallot (diced)
• 2 stalks green onion (minced thinly)
• 1/2 cup bean thread noodles (soaked in warm water for 10 min, drained then minced)
• 1/4 cup wood ear mushrooms (soaked in warm water for 10 min, drained and minced)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the stuffing: Combine the pork, minced tentacles (if any), fish sauce, ground pepper, sugar, salt, shallot, green onions, bean thread noodles and wood ear mushrooms. Let the pork mixture marinate for at least 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Stuff the calamari using a small spoon or a piping bag. Seal the calamari by threading a toothpick at the end.

3. 3

   Steam the calamari: In a frying pan on medium high heat, add the stuffed calamari. No need for oil. Cover the pan with a lid and steam the calamari for 10 minutes. This will evenly and perfectly cook both the pork and calamari without drying them out.

4. 4

   Add color to the calamari: To add color to the calamari, you can either fry it with a bit of vegetable oil or grill until golden brown.

5. 5

   Slice and serve: Slice to the desired thickness and serve with fish sauce dipping sauce.