Simple & Delicious Squid Cake with Tomato Sauce Recipe

The tomato-sauce squid cake is one of the most attractive variations of squid cake, a famous specialty of the Quang Ninh coastal region. The combination of the naturally sweet and crunchy flavor of squid cake and the tangy, vibrant red color of tomatoes creates a harmonious, fragrant dish that you can enjoy endlessly. This dish is suitable for both everyday meals and family meals that need a change of pace.

Join Ola Squid to learn how to prepare the tomato-sauce squid cake quickly and easily while still ensuring deliciousness and nutrition right below this article!

Ingredients for tomato-sauce squid cake

Main ingredients and spices

To make the authentic tomato-sauce squid cake, you need to prepare:

In any professional cooking recipe, ingredients are always the soul of the dish. For tomato-sauce squid cake, you need to prepare:

• Squid cake: prioritize using hand-pounded squid cake or squid cake made from tube squid, fresh squid. The quantity depends on the portion size for your family.
• Tomatoes: choose ripe, red, and fleshy tomatoes with few seeds to create a thick consistency.
• Minced garlic: helps create a fragrant base for the sauce.
• Scallions and cilantro: these two herbs are a “specialty” served with squid cake, helping to enhance the characteristic aroma.
• Spices: sugar, seasoning powder, salt, pepper, chili sauce to enhance color and mild sweetness.
• Cooking oil: used to lightly fry the squid cake before simmering with tomatoes.

The important point of the dish lies in the proportion of spices in the tomato sauce. Tomatoes need to be sautéed until “oily,” and chili sauce should be used moderately to make the color beautiful without overpowering the natural flavor of the squid cake. When everything blends together, the sauce will have just the right thickness, clinging to each piece of squid cake and creating a rich and distinctive flavor.

Tips for choosing fresh, delicious squid cake

A delicious tomato-sauce squid cake starts with quality squid cake. Good squid cake usually:

• Has a light yellow or slightly orange color if pre-fried.
• When cut, you can see clear diced squid pieces.
• Has a light aroma of fresh squid, not fishy or pungent.
• When broken in half, it has a natural firmness, not too mushy or too hard.

Detailed instructions on how to make tomato-sauce squid cake

Prepare and prepare ingredients

Even though the squid cake is already made, you should still lightly fry it to create firmness, helping the cake not break apart when simmering with the sauce. The preparation steps include:

• Cut the squid cake into bite-sized pieces (triangles or rectangles).
• Heat the pan with enough oil.
• Lightly fry the squid cake until golden on both sides, do not fry for too long to avoid drying out the cake.

• Remove the squid cake and drain the oil.
• Wash the tomatoes, remove the seeds if you want a smooth sauce, then chop or puree.
• Wash the scallions and cilantro, and chop finely.
• Mince the garlic for frying.

Steps to make tomato-sauce squid cake

The cooking method is quite simple but requires meticulousness in each step to ensure the sauce is evenly absorbed into the squid cake:

Step 1: Fry the garlic

• Use the same pan used to fry the squid cake, drain off excess oil, leaving 1 tablespoon of oil.
• Add minced garlic and fry until golden and fragrant.

Step 2: Create the sauce base

• Add the chopped tomatoes.
• Stir until the tomatoes soften, release water, and turn a deep red color.
• Add the spices:
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder
  • 1–2 tablespoons of chili sauce to enhance color and thickness
  • A little salt to balance the flavor

Step 3: Simmer the squid cake with tomato sauce

• When the tomatoes thicken, add the fried squid cake.
• Reduce the heat to low.
• Simmer for 5–10 minutes to allow the squid cake to absorb the sauce.
• Frequently stir gently and evenly to prevent the sauce from burning and sticking to the squid cake.

Step 4: Finish

• When the tomato sauce thickens, sprinkle with chopped scallions and cilantro.
• Add a little pepper to enhance the aroma.
• Stir for another 10–15 seconds then turn off the heat.

The squid cake is now not only infused with a rich flavor but also has an attractive red-orange color, creating a stimulating feeling for the taste buds as soon as you see it.

See more:

• What delicious dishes can be made with squid cake? Top attractive dishes from squid cake

• Instructions on how to make delicious and authentic stir-fried squid with tomatoes

• How to make sweet and sour tamarind squid sauce, irresistibly delicious

Secrets to making a rich and authentic tomato sauce

To make the sauce more flavorful and “satisfying,” you need to master a few secrets:

• The tomatoes must be sautéed thoroughly until completely dissolved, creating adhesion.
• Adding a little chili sauce will make the color more beautiful and the flavor more intense without being too sour.
• Add sugar to balance the natural acidity of the tomatoes.
• Do not add water too early; let the tomatoes release water naturally for a more flavorful taste.
• Finish with scallions, cilantro, and a little pepper to create a characteristic aroma.

Thanks to these factors, the sauce can cling evenly to each piece of squid cake, creating a harmonious, rich, and flavorful tomato-sauce squid cake that suits the whole family.

Enjoying and storing tomato-sauce squid cake

Suggestions for side dishes and decorations

The tomato-sauce squid cake goes well with many side dishes:

• Hot white rice
• Fresh vermicelli or banh hoi (Vietnamese rice vermicelli)
• White sticky rice
• Boiled water spinach or cucumber

You can decorate with a few scallions or cilantro to add color. The presentation not only creates an appetizing feeling but also brings a sophisticated experience in the style of Vietnamese family cuisine.

How to store tomato-sauce squid cake

The dish can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1–2 days. When reheating, simply warm it up on low heat or use a microwave. Do not leave it for longer as the cilantro and scallions are easily wilted, affecting the flavor.

Other delicious dishes from squid cake

Crispy fried squid cake

Crispy fried squid cake is the most popular cooking method, suitable from family meals to small parties. When fried at the right temperature, the outside forms a crispy crust, while the inside retains the chewy sweetness of the squid meat.

Ingredients:

• 300g squid cake
• Cooking oil
• Chili sauce or salt, pepper, and lemon
• (Optional) a little fried flour to create a crispier crust

Quick recipe:

• Cut the squid cake into bite-sized pieces.
• Heat oil to 150–170°C.
• Drop the squid cake into the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides.
• Remove and drain the oil, serve with chili sauce or salt, pepper, and lemon.

Tip: Do not fry for too long to maintain the natural sweetness and chewiness.

Sticky rice with squid cake

Sticky rice with squid cake is a great choice for a nutritious and energetic breakfast. Soft, fragrant white sticky rice is steamed from fragrant rice or flower glutinous rice, served with hot squid cake that has been fried or reheated.

Ingredients:

• 200–300g squid cake
• 1 bowl of glutinous rice (fragrant glutinous rice is even better)
• Salt, cooking oil or lard
• Scallions, fried onions (optional)

Quick recipe:

• Soak the glutinous rice for 4–6 hours, drain, mix with a little salt, then steam.
• Steam the squid cake or pan-fry it until lightly golden.
• Spoon the sticky rice onto a plate, arrange the squid cake on top.
• Drizzle with lard, sprinkle with fried onions or pepper if desired.

Squid cake stewed with pork belly

Squid cake stewed with pork belly is a rich, flavorful dish, perfect with hot rice. The appeal of the dish lies in the combination of soft, fatty pork belly and chewy squid cake, thoroughly infused with sweet and savory flavors.

Ingredients:

• 200g squid cake
• 200g pork belly
• Minced garlic and shallots
• Sugar, fish sauce, pepper, cooking oil, chili (optional)

Quick recipe:

• Cut the pork belly into pieces, marinate with fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and shallots.
• Caramelize the sugar until it turns a wing-colored, add the pork and stir until browned.
• Add the squid cake, stir for 2 minutes.
• Pour in a little water, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the water thickens.
• Sprinkle with pepper and chili before turning off the heat.

Where to buy fresh, quality squid cake?

You can buy squid cake at large supermarkets such as Co.opmart, WinMart, GO!/Big C or Lotte Mart. If you want to choose authentic Quang Ninh specialties, you can refer to brands such as Ba Sau, Minh Phuong. In addition, the official store on Shopee Mall or Tiki Trading is also a convenient and guaranteed origin choice.

Tomato-sauce squid cake is a wonderful combination of mild sweet and sour flavors and the chewy texture of squid cake. With the right cooking technique and quality ingredient selection, you can create a flavorful, easy-to-eat dish that is suitable for the whole family.

Hopefully, the detailed instructions in this article, compiled and completed by the content team of Ola Squid, will help you feel more confident in the kitchen and create many delicious dishes from squid cake in the future. If you are looking for