How to Make Delicious and Easy Stuffed Squid with Tomato Sauce

Stuffed squid with tomato sauce is a rich dish with a soft and sweet squid outer skin, filled with savory and rich pork inside, coated with a mildly sour, smooth tomato sauce on the outside. Briefly pan-frying the squid before simmering in the sauce helps the squid body firm up, keeping a beautiful shape and absorbing the seasonings evenly. If you are looking for how to make stuffed squid with tomato sauce that is perfectly delicious, the article below, by Ola Squid, will guide you step-by-step to easily make it at home.

Ingredients to Prepare

To make stuffed squid with tomato sauce for about 3-4 people, prepare the following ingredients:

How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Ingredients

Fresh ingredients determine the sweetness of the squid, the softness of the filling, and the flavor of the sauce. When buying, you should pay attention to squid, pork, and tomatoes according to the following criteria:

• Fresh squid: Choose squid tubes with a firm body, shiny skin, a natural ivory-white color, clear eyes, and the head firmly attached to the body. When pressed gently, the squid should have good elasticity, not be mushy, slimy, or have an unusual sour or foul smell.
• Delicious pork: Prioritize pork shoulder (with marbling) with a moderate amount of fat so that the filling is moist and tender, not dry after cooking. Fresh meat usually has a natural pink color, firm fibers, a non-sticky surface, and no strange odor. If buying whole pieces of meat, you can choose fresh meat and ask to have it ground on the spot.
• Fresh tomatoes: Choose evenly ripe red tomatoes with glossy skin, firm in hand, and not bruised. Just-ripe tomatoes usually have a balanced sweet and sour taste, lots of juice, and are suitable for making sauce. Avoid choosing ones with wilted stems, wrinkled skin, or unusual soft spots.

How to Make Stuffed Squid with Tomato Sauce

After preparing all ingredients, you in turn prepare the squid, make the filling, stuff the pork, and pan-fry it before cooking with the tomato sauce. Doing this in the correct order helps the squid body firm up beautifully, the filling cooks evenly, and the sauce absorbs into each squid ring.

Step 1 – Prepare squid and other ingredients

Gently pull the squid heads away from the bodies, remove the ink sacs, cuttlebone, and innards, then rinse thoroughly. Rub a little salt or crushed ginger gently on the squid body to eliminate the fishy odor, then rinse again and drain. Keep the squid tentacles, finely chop them to mix with the filling. Soak wood ear mushrooms and glass noodles until soft, then finely chop them; finely mince the shallots, garlic, green onions, and chili. Wash the tomatoes, remove the stems, and dice them to make the sauce.

Step 2 – Make the filling and stuff the squid

Put the minced pork into a bowl along with the chopped squid tentacles, wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles, shallots, and green onions. Add fish sauce, seasoning powder, sugar, and pepper, then mix well to combine the ingredients, and let it marinate for about 10-15 minutes to absorb the flavors. Use a spoon to slowly stuff the filling into the squid body, stuffing only about 80% of the squid body to leave room for the filling to expand during cooking. Finally, use a toothpick to pin diagonally across the opening of the squid to secure the filling inside.

Step 3 – Pan-fry the stuffed squid

Heat the pan, add about 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil, and heat over medium heat. Put each stuffed squid into the pan to fry, turning gently on all sides so the squid body firms up and turns slightly golden. Fry for about 3-5 minutes, no need to cook completely because the squid will continue to be cooked in the tomato sauce. Once the squid is evenly firm, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Step 4 – Cook the squid in tomato sauce

Using the remaining oil in the pan, sauté the minced shallots and garlic until fragrant, then add the tomatoes and stir-fry over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt and sugar, stirring until the tomatoes soften, release their juice, and form a thick sauce. Pour about 100-150ml of water, along with the remaining fish sauce and seasoning powder into the pan, and stir well. When the sauce boils, add the pre-fried squid, turn down to low heat, cover with a lid, and cook for about 8-10 minutes, turning the squid once so the sauce coats all sides evenly.

Step 5 – Complete and enjoy

When the tomato sauce thickens, and the squid is tender and infused with seasonings, turn off the heat. Place the squid on a plate, drizzle the sauce on top, and sprinkle with green onions and ground pepper. The squid has a natural sweetness, tender and fragrant pork filling, blending with the rich, sweet, and sour tomato sauce, perfect for serving hot with white rice.

See more similar delicious dishes:

• How to make irresistible rich simmered dried squid with tomatoes

• Simple yet delicious recipe for squid cake in tomato sauce

Tips for making stuffed squid with tomato sauce even more delicious

To make the stuffed squid with tomato sauce tender yet chewy, with a flavorful meat filling and a delicious, thick tomato sauce, keep a few tips in mind during preparation:

• Do not overstuff: You should only stuff about 80% of the squid body to leave space for the filling to expand during cooking, which also prevents the squid from bursting.
• Briefly fry before adding sauce: Frying the squid over medium heat helps the squid body firm up, keeping the filling inside and creating a beautiful golden color.
• Cook the sauce to a thick consistency: Sauté the tomatoes until completely soft before adding water so that the sauce has a beautiful color, rich flavor, and easily coats the squid.
• Do not cook the squid for too long: Only cook until the squid is just done and has absorbed the sauce to maintain its tenderness, avoiding making the squid body chewy.
• Season moderately: Combine fish sauce, sugar, and pepper just enough to highlight the natural sweetness of the squid and the sweet and sour taste of the tomatoes.

Unbeatable Delicious Variations of Stuffed Squid

Not only paired with tomato sauce, stuffed squid can also be customized into many different preparation methods. Depending on your taste, you can try versions like braised, fried, grilled, steamed, or simmered in coconut water to switch up your family meals:

Braised stuffed squid

Braised stuffed squid has a rich, savory, and slightly thick braising sauce. The squid is cooked with fish sauce, sugar, pepper, and a bit of coconut water or water until evenly absorbed, perfect to enjoy with hot rice.

Fried stuffed squid

Fried stuffed squid has a crispy golden outer skin with a tender, fragrant pork filling inside. You can fry them whole or cut them into rings after frying, serving them with chili sauce or sweet and sour fish sauce for a perfect match.

See more unbeatable delicious fried squid recipes:

• How to make rich fish sauce-fried squid, addictive to eat
• How to make crispy, delicious, and fragrant butter garlic fried squid
• Delicious wild betel leaf fried squid recipe, addictive to eat
• How to make crispy fried squid and deep-fried panko squid with restaurant-standard crunchiness

Grilled stuffed squid

Grilled stuffed squid brings an attractive aroma from the squid and a richly marinated pork filling. While grilling, you should brush on a layer of seasoning sauce so that the surface of the squid turns a beautiful color and the filling does not dry out.

See more: 10 unbeatable grilled squid recipes you must try

Steamed stuffed squid

Steamed stuffed squid retains the natural sweetness of the squid and the tender, aromatic qualities of the pork filling. This dish has a simple preparation method, requires very little oil, and can be served with ginger fish sauce or sweet and sour dipping sauce.

See more: 5 super easy ways to steam squid while preserving its natural sweetness

Stuffed squid simmered in coconut water

Stuffed squid simmered in coconut water has a delicate sweetness, rich flavor, and an attractive glossy brown color. The coconut water is boiled with seasonings until thickened, infusing into the squid body and the filling, creating a delicious and appealing dish.

See more irresistible delicious simmered squid recipes:

• How to make soft and delicious sweet and savory simmered squid that anyone can do

• How to make rich, tender yet chewy chili garlic simmered squid perfectly flavored

• How to make irresistible rich fish sauce-simmered baby squid

With a simple recipe and easy-to-prepare ingredients, stuffed squid with tomato sauce is a perfect choice to switch up your family meals. If you love delicious dishes from squid and want to discover more convenient products, you can check out dried squid by Ola Squid – a beautifully packaged product convenient for home use or as gifts. You can see more types of dried squid at Ola Squid to select the right product for your needs!