How to Make Delicious, Tender, Sweet and Savory Stir-Fried Squid – Easy for Everyone

If you are looking for a dish that both goes perfectly with rice and can be served as an attractive drinking snack, then simmered squid is definitely a must-try choice. The dish has a harmonious sweet and savory taste, blended with a hint of mild spiciness and an aromatic scent from dried squid. In the article below, let’s join Ola Squid to discover how to make sweet and savory simmered squid at home simply yet deliciously and authentically like in restaurants, don’t miss out!

Ingredients to Prepare

To make sweet and savory simmered squid for about 3-4 people, you should prepare the ingredients with the following quantities:

How to Choose Fresh, Delicious Squid for Sweet and Savory Simmering

Fresh squid helps the simmered dish retain its softness, sweetness of the meat, and avoid any fishy smell. When choosing squid, you should prioritize those with firm bodies, natural colors, and no unusual odors.

• Color: Fresh squid usually has a translucent white body, a light pink glow, and a shiny surface. Do not choose squid with abnormal cloudy, yellow, or dark-spotted colors.
• Elasticity: Use your finger to press gently on the squid’s body. Fresh squid has firm meat with good elasticity, and quickly returns to its original shape. If the meat is mushy and leaves a dent for a long time, the squid may have been kept for too long.
• Squid eyes: Fresh squid eyes are usually clear and bright, not cloudy or discolored. This is also an easily recognizable sign when buying whole squid.
• Smell: Fresh squid has a characteristic light marine fishy smell but is not pungent or unpleasant. If the squid has a sour, foul, or any strange smell, you should not choose it.
• Choose the suitable type of squid: Depending on your taste, you can choose the suitable type of squid to simmer as desired.
• Squid tubes have firm meat and a slight crunchiness, suitable if you like a simmered dish with a crunchy texture.
• Baby squid is small in size, has soft meat and a natural sweet taste, while broad squid has a thick body, sweet and firm meat. Depending on your taste, you can choose the suitable type of squid for the simmered dish to achieve the desired texture.

How to Make Sweet and Savory Simmered Squid Simply at Home

For the simmered squid to have a harmonious sweet and savory taste, you only need to perform the steps of preparing squid, marinating, making sauce, and simmering over medium heat one by one. The most important thing is to control the cooking time so that the squid is cooked through, absorbing the seasoning while maintaining its tenderness and natural sweetness.

Step 1 – Preparing and Removing Fishy Smell from Squid

Gently pull the head of the purchased squid away from the body, remove the ink sac, internal organs, and the transparent backbone, then rinse clean under running water. Lightly rub the squid with a little salt or rub with a few crushed ginger slices for about 1-2 minutes to reduce the fishy smell, then rinse again and drain thoroughly. Squid tubes and reef squid can be cut into bite-sized rings, while small baby squid should be left whole to maintain their sweetness and beautiful shape.

Step 2 – Marinating Squid

Place 500g of prepared squid into a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, mix gently so that the seasonings cover evenly. Marinating the squid for about 10-15 minutes is enough for the seasoning to absorb lightly without causing the squid to release too much liquid. If you like it spicy, you can add some minced chili in this step.

Step 3 – Making the Sauce

Add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of chili sauce, and 2-3 tablespoons of filtered water into a small bowl, stir well until the sugar dissolves and the ingredients are fully combined. The sauce should have a moderate sweet and savory taste because when simmering, the liquid will reduce, making the flavor bolder. Depending on your taste, you can increase or decrease the sugar and fish sauce, or add chili to adjust the spiciness.

Step 4 – Simmering Squid

Place a pan on the stove, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, then sauté 1 tablespoon of minced garlic until fragrant. Add the squid and stir-fry quickly over medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes to firm it up, then pour in the sauce and lower the heat to medium. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes, occasionally stirring gently to ensure the sauce coats evenly; when the sauce thickens, clings to the squid pieces, and turns golden brown, turn off the stove to prevent the squid from becoming dry, chewy, or burning the sugar in the sauce.

Step 5 – Final Product and Enjoying

The final simmered squid has an eye-catching golden-brown color, the sauce is lightly thickened and coats each piece of squid evenly, the meat is firm yet tender, retaining its natural sweetness.

Transfer the squid to a plate, drizzle the remaining sauce on top, sprinkle with green onions and ground pepper, then enjoy while hot. This dish is exceptionally delicious when eaten with steamed white rice, as the rich sweet and savory taste of the sauce combined with the sweet and aromatic flavor of the squid creates a simple yet very rice-matching dish.

Similar delicious dishes you might be interested in:

• How to make delicious, savory baby squid simmered in fish sauce
• How to make savory, tender, and chewy garlic chili simmered squid with authentic taste
• 3 ways to make simple, savory simmered dried squid at home
• How to make irresistibly savory dried squid simmered with tomatoes
• How to make irresistibly delicious and savory egg squid simmered in fish sauce

Tips to Help Simmered Squid Be Flavorful, Not Dry, and Not Fishy

Delicious simmered squid depends not only on the seasoning but also on controlling the heat and cooking time. A few small tips below will help the squid absorb the flavor, remain tender and delicious without being fishy or burning the sauce.

• Simmering squid to absorb seasoning evenly: After adding the sauce, you should simmer the squid over medium heat for about 5 – 7 minutes. This duration is enough for the sauce to reduce and coat evenly around the squid pieces without dehydrating the meat too much. When you see the sauce lightly thickened and coating the squid, turn off the heat, avoiding continuing to simmer until the pan is dry.
• Avoiding squid from becoming chewy or burnt: Choose fresh squid, prepare it cleanly, and pat it completely dry before processing. You should stir-fry the squid quickly over medium-high heat to firm it up, then lower the heat when adding the sauce. While simmering, stir gently and do not let the pan run out of sauce for too long because the sugar in the sauce burns very easily, and the squid will also quickly become dry and chewy.

Sweet and savory simmered squid is an easy-to-make, rich, and suitable dish for family meals. If you love the delicious flavor of squid dishes, you can refer to more dried squid products from Ola Squid to prepare many attractive dishes. Ola Squid specializes in providing a wide variety of dried squid products, making it easy for you to choose the suitable type of squid for your needs.