Ketupat Sotong - Stuffed Squids

Star Q

i.  Permintaan Pengantin

ii.  Majlis di Felda Bukit Rokan

iii.  Kursus untuk GDB SR

There are times when I have the urge to try something new or something that I have longed to make but have never had the opportunity to do so.  Cooking something that I have never cooked before and with no background knowledge of what the dish actually tastes like, can be quite stressful.

But I pushed aside my anxiety and trepidation, and finally mustered enough courage to try this very famous Terengganu dish, which is Ketupat Sotong (Stuffed Squids)  Not only was I anxious about how the dish would turn out, I was also anxious as to how my whole family would accept it.   At least I have the squids part on my side because my family just love squids.  However, I am not so sure about the overall dish.

But like I mentioned earlier, I decided to give this typical Terengganu dish a try, while communicating back and forth via cellphone with my wife's niece who happens to be married to a Terengganu lad and has had personal tuition about cooking this dish from her mother-in-law.  So, putting my faith in her instructions on how to prepare the dish, I trudged on. 

• 8 large squids, cleaned and skins removed
• 5 shallots, sliced
• 2 thumb sized ginger, julienned
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek
• 1 tsp anchovy stock granules
• 8 toothpicks
• 200 ml coconut milk (I used packet)
• 300 ml water
• 1 cup glutinous rice
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp salt

First mix the glutinous rice with 2 cups of coconut milk and 1/2 salt, and set aside for about ten minutes.  After ten minutes, in a pot, cook the glutinous rice over fire like you would normal rice, using the coconut milk it was soaked in.  Once cooked, set aside and allow to cool completely.

To stuff the squids, take one squid and fill the cavity of the squid with about 3 tsp of the cooked glutinous rice or until three quarter full.  Take the tentacles and use a toothpick to secure it to the body of the squid.  Make sure that the cavity is secured with the toothpick so that the glutinous rice does not spill out of the cavity while cooking the squid.  Continue process with the rest of the squids.

Place all the stuffed squids into a pot.  Pour in 200 ml of coconut and water, and add in the shallots, ginger, fenugreek and anchovy stock granules.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until squids are cooked.  Serve hot.