have you ever had this nagging feeling of what to cook whenever a festive season is around the corner? what mood do i want to create? i want it to be different but not too overwhelming for my guests....who am i inviting? what is the occasion? are they adults or children? big eaters or mousy eaters? well there is room for everyone... read on.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Sotong Curry (Squid or Calamari in Curry Sauce)

It has been a long while since I was first inspired by a photo taken by boo-licious of masak-masak.blogspot.com of this sotong curry she reviewed sometime in my early days as a food blogger. I couldn't resist the delicious looking sotong curry photo she took, so I pasted it on my desktop as a reminder I should cook this delicacy someday. That day has finally come!
Sotong also known as squid or calamari is a relative of the octopus family and available all year round. The only reason I hardly cook this dish is because sotong is very high in cholesterol. Reading taken from a writing by Sheldon Margen and Dale A. Ogar in our Star newspapers sometime ago states sotong has "239 mg of cholesterol per a three ounce cooked portion, 117 calories and 4 g of fat, but less than 1 g is saturated." Just as a comparision, the same three ounce portion of crabs has 87 calories, 1.5 gm fat and only 85 gm of cholesterol. Even three ounce of fresh prawns (shrimps) only account for 166 mg of cholesterol, 89 calories and 1 g of fat.
Whether it is a myth or not that tamarind juice helps reduce cholesterol, I shall give it a clear shot!
6 fairly large sotong (skinned, de-boned and inky eyes and teeth removed)
1 Tbsp assam paste (tamarind paste) - soak in a small bowl of warm water, discard the seeds and use the assam water
1 tsp belacan paste (toasted till fragrant)
4 Tbsp olive oil
sugar
sea salt to taste
Ingredients to be blended
5 dried chilies
3 fresh large red chilies
5 bird-eye chilies
3 clove garlic
5 shallots
1/2 inch ginger
Heat wok, drizzle with olive oil, stir in blended ingredients till fragrant. Add belacan, sugar and assam water. Put in the cleaned sotong, stir just about 5 minutes. Always remember sotong will become rubbery once over-cooked. Sea salt to taste.
Serve and decorate with some mint leaves.

9 Comments:

  • wow audrey, i'm drooling just looking at the pic! sotong is my favorite! must give your recipe a try some day. also love your shot, its a nice contrast with the mint leaves. great job girl!

     
  • Hey Audrey, I was blog hopping & found yours. This sotong curry looks really good and yummy!

    Great job!

    Grace

     
  • Wow Evan! thanks, coming from a si fu like you.

    Welcome to my blog Grace, checked your blog out and you certainly have some of my favourites too. Yum!

     
  • Alamak, this is my favourite but unfortunately my hubby doesn't like this dish. So no chance to have this at home. :(

     
  • looks so good but alas, haven't managed to convince my hubby that sotongs are edible food :-(

     
  • oooohh! i shouldnt have come in when i'm hungry......

     
  • Edith, Cath and Mike, I came to a conclusion that some ppl either are hard core sotong lovers or they absolutely categorise sotong as non-edible food. There is no 'sitting on the fence issue'.My mom-in-law still thinks they are rubberbands! chuckle!

     
  • hi audrey, just to let u know i've moved to blogspot. i havent been able to access blogdrive for one whole day already n its driving me crazy! i think blogger will be more stable and i managed to do up my layout exactly the way it is. there are only 5 entries now, but when i'm able to access my blogdrive acct, i'll move everything over. pls change yr link accordingly. im at :

    http://bossacafez.blogspot.com

    see ya around =)

     
  • looks delicious. I live in spain, where calamares are eaten in industrial quantities, both fresh & frozen. although high in cholesterol, nobody seems to care. I have them quite a lot, dusted in seasoned flour & fried for a couple of minutes in olive oil. I should take more care of myself!
    saludos!

     

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I'm Audrey from Somewhere in my kitchen, Malaysia.

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