Muc ong rim me wins people over with a glossy sauce clinging to the squid, sour and sweet and deeply seasoned. The trouble is that squid releases a lot of liquid, so the sauce refuses to thicken. The trick is a quick first sear.
Fry the squid over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until firm, turn it out onto a plate and pour off every drop of liquid before braising. Only then does the sauce reduce and coat the squid. Hot rice is all it needs.
This batch weighs about 839g, at roughly 140 calories per 100g.
Method
Clean the squid, pulling out the ink sac, the quill and the eyes. Rinse it with 20ml white rice wine and bruised ginger to remove any off smell, rinse again in cold water and drain thoroughly. Leave small squid whole and cut larger ones into bite sized pieces.
Season the squid with 15ml fish sauce and a little ground pepper for 10 minutes.
Put 50g tamarind pulp in a bowl with 100ml warm water, mash it until dissolved, then strain it, discarding the seeds and fibers and keeping the tamarind liquid.
Heat 15ml cooking oil in a pan and sear the squid over high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes until firm and lightly browned at the edges. Turn it out onto a plate and pour off the liquid it has released.
In the same pan, heat the other 15ml oil and fry the shallot, garlic and minced chili until fragrant. Pour in the tamarind liquid, season with 36g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, the remaining 15ml fish sauce and 15g chili sauce, then bring it to a boil and stir until dissolved and slightly thickened.
Return the squid, stir to coat and braise over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes until the sauce reduces to a glossy reddish brown coating.
Turn off the heat, sprinkle over the ground pepper and 5g roasted sesame seeds, give it a final gentle stir and serve.
Tips
Choose small squid so they take the sauce quickly and evenly.
After the first fry, pour off the liquid the squid has released, which is what keeps the dish dry and the sauce clinging.
Strain the tamarind paste through a fine sieve, since leftover pulp leaves the sauce gritty.
Simmer over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, as high heat shrinks the squid and turns it rubbery.
Scatter the toasted sesame after the stove is off, since a hot pan leaves the seeds limp and flat.
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.