Stuffed squid with rice and peas
This famous dish originates on the West Coast of Japan. Locals use uncooked rice to fill the squid and then cook it for 40 minutes in a soy-based sauce. My recipe, a simplified version, will cook in only 10 minutes. I love the look and texture of this dish.
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized frozen squid tubes, defrosted
- 300 grams cooked short or medium-grain rice
- 2 tablespoons frozen peas, defrosted
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon cooking sake
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 100ml water
Method
- Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, ginger and water in a small bowl. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl, add rice, peas and a tablespoon of the above mix in the bowl and mix well.
- Use a spoon to stuff the rice inside the squid and then seal with a toothpick.
- Place the stuffed squid in a medium-sized saucepan, pour the remaining soy/mirin mix over and drape a cartouche on top of the squid (see tip). Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- To serve, slice the squid and drizzle the sauce on top.
REAL TIP: To make a cartouche, cut baking paper into a circle to fit just inside the circumference of your saucepan. Puncture with holes and place directly on top of ingredients. In Japan, they use a wooden lid called “Otoshi Buta”. This allows heat to circulate well and soup to evenly absorb the flavours.