Muc Nhoi Thit (Vietnamese Stuffed Squid) #FishFridayFoodies

It's time for Fish Friday Foodies' September event. We are a group of seafood-loving bloggers, rallied by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, to share fish and seafood recipes on the third Friday of the month. 

This month, Sneha of Sneha's Recipes is hosting. Here was her challenge to the group: "Let's Stuff some fish with any ingredients you can think of, make it spicy or mild just what you would like to enjoy with your family and friends. Any fish that is stuffed will do whether shellfish or fillets."

Last month, I made Bánh Mì Xíu Mai (Spicy Meatball Bánh Mì) for R's belated birthday celebration lunch and I wanted to make something with a similar flavor profile. And I had some fresh market squid, so I decided to stuff them.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cleaned squids (How to Clean Squid)
• olive oil
• paprika
• sea salt

Filling

• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 t fish sauce
• 1 t freshly ground pepper
• 1 t organic granulated sugar
• 1/2 t freshly ground salt
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1/2 t minced lemongrass

Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham) 

• 3 T freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 T organic granulated sugar
• ½ C water
• 2 ½ T fish sauce
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced, optional (though garlic is never optional in my mind!)
• 1 or 2 Thai chilis, thinly sliced 

Also needed: toothpicks, grill pan

Procedure

Note: the Nuoc Cham can be made a day ahead of time

Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham) 

Whisk together the lime juice, sugar, and water. Completely dissolve the sugar. Add the fish sauce, garlic, and chilis. If making this ahead of time, place in a jar and refrigerate. Makes approximately 3/4 C of sauce.

Filling
In mixing bowl, blend all of the ingredients together until well-combined. Set aside.

Squid

Carefully stuff the pork mixture into the cleaned squids. Be gentle and don't overstuff them. "Stitch" the open ends together with a toothpick.

Bring a large, flat bottom pot full of water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Gently lower the stuffed squid into the water and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes to precook the meat filling. While the squid simmers, heat your grill or grill pan and keep it at a medium temperature. Grease your pan or grill.

Cook the squid on the grill to finish cooking the meat and to get nice grill marks on the squid, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and serve immediately.

You can serve them whole or slice them into 1" pieces to show off the filling.

Serve with the dipping sauce and a light salad - I made an Asian-inspired purple cabbage slaw. Muc nhoi thit has a wonderful charred flavor; we loved the crisped tentacles along with the flavorful stuffing. I will definitely be making these again soon.

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