This dish of stuffed squid pockets with minced pork mixture is a very simple dish to prepare. And it tastes lovely cooked with a simple pot of chicken stock soup and dongfen, with some rice to go with. I can also imagine cutting some bird’s eye chilli to dip the stuffed squid into, and to gobble down the squid in a mouthful with a few slices of chilli. Yummy…
It’s the last day of July today. We are headed towards the end of summer, and autumn is on its way to meet us. Not that it is going to make any difference to the weather in Singapore, but just thinking about it in this way kind of makes it melancholic, because we are still not seeing any clear indications of where we will be headed at the end of the year and whether I will finally be able to see my extended family soon. Talks about dining out in mid-August has been in the news, but it comes with an elusive, almost cheating vibe.
Key milestones will be missed – missing out on the boy’s pre-school graduation is something I’ve had to come to terms with. Not being able to see him perform on the stage is hard, because I know he would have performed so well and so happily. P1 registration has got to be online, and as parents, we may not be able to see how the school is like and perhaps miss out on joining him in this voyage on the first day of school next year. All the P1 open house are unable to proceed and as parents, we will need to know how to trust our instincts and go with what we think could be the best choice for our children.
That said, I try to keep my passion alive doing what I do best at home. It’s something that has not stopped since the pandemic came about, and I am really glad that it’s something I can still continue to pursue – food supply has not (yet) been disrupted much and I can get most of what I need without major concerns.
Still keeping my fingers crossed that we can at least dine out soon, and I can get to meet up with my family soon. Stay sane and safe. And may things start to turn around soon.
For now, it’s just gonna be me and my stuffed squids. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Minced pork: 150g
- Chinese parsley: 1 stalk, finely chopped + extra for garnish
- Salt: 1/2 tsp
- Ground white pepper: a pinch
- Cornflour: 1 tsp
- Fish sauce: 1 tsp + 1 tbsp
- Sesame oil: 1 tsp + 1 tbsp
- Medium sized squid: 9 (about 500g)
- Water: 500ml
- Chicken stock cube: 1
- Dongfen: 1 bundle
- Egg: 1 (optional)
Method:
- Combine minced pork, parsley, salt, white pepper, cornflour, 1 tsp fish sauce & 1 tsp sesame oil.
- Discard heads of squids, cartilage & residual innards. Peel away the skin.
- Stuff minced pork into squid.
- Bring water to a boil with chicken stock cube, 1 tbsp fish sauce & 1 tbsp sesame oil.
- Add squid, cook in stock for 2min.
- Add dongfen & break an egg into stock. Cook for another min.
- Garnish with remaining parsley to serve.
Trick:
-
The minced pork in the squid will actually expand when cooked. I stuffed mine filled all the way to the brims of the squid, so all the minced pork came squeezing out of the squid pockets, which made them look quite funny actually!
Serving:
2 persons