Sweet and sour stir-fried squid is a familiar dish in Vietnamese family meals. The combination of the natural sweetness of fresh squid, the crunchy texture of various vegetables, and the rich, sweet-and-sour sauce stimulates the taste buds.

If you are looking for cách làm mực xào chua ngọt (the recipe for sweet and sour stir-fried squid) with an authentic restaurant taste, featuring crispy squid without being chewy or fishy, let’s join Ola Squid in the kitchen to make the simple recipe below!

Summary of content

Ingredients to Prepare

To make a delicious mực xào chua ngọt ngon, preparing the ingredients plays an extremely important role. Below are the detailed portions for a family meal that you can refer to:

Servings: 3 – 4 people
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Nguyên liệu làm mực xào chua ngọt — Ingredients for sweet and sour stir-fried squid

Ingredient Name	Expected Quantity	Note
Fresh squid	500g	Choose fresh tube squid or bigfin reef squid
Pineapple	1/2 fruit	Choose a moderately ripe one for natural sweet and sour flavor
Bell pepper	1 fruit (green or red)	Makes the dish eye-catching and colorful
Onion	1/2 bulb	Cut into wedge shapes
Tomato	1 – 2 fruits	Creates mild acidity and a nice sauce color
Carrot	1/2 bulb	Carved into flower shapes or sliced thinly
Celery	2 – 3 stalks	Cut into segments of about 3 – 4cm
Aromatics	Scallions, ginger, garlic, shallots	Minced shallots and garlic, bruised ginger
Seasonings	Salt, seasoning powder, sugar, MSG, white vinegar, white wine	Adjust according to family taste

How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Squid for Stir-Frying

The quality of the squid determines 80% of the success of the mực sốt chua ngọt (sweet and sour squid sauce) dish. No matter how skillfully you season it, if you buy stale squid, the dish will become mushy and have a very unpleasant odor.

When going to the market or supermarket, pocket these fresh squid selection tips right away:

Intact skin: Fresh squid will have glossy skin that adheres tightly to the body, without peeling or heavy scratches.
Transparent eyes: If the eyes are crystal clear with the pupils clearly visible inside, it is newly caught squid. Conversely, cloudy eyes mean the squid has been kept for a long time.
Firm and elastic flesh: Press gently on the squid body. If the squid flesh contracts quickly and has high elasticity, it is good squid. If the body is soft, mushy, and does not bounce back when indented, the squid is stale.
Tentacles firmly attached to the body: Check the head and tentacles; fresh squid has all its curling tentacles intact and firmly attached to the body rather than broken off.

Mực tươi quyết định lớn đến độ ngon của món ăn — Fresh squid greatly determines the deliciousness of the dish

Steps to Prepare Sweet and Sour Stir-Fried Squid

After fully preparing the ingredients, join Ola Squid to execute the cách làm mực xào chua ngọt recipe for crunchy sweet and sour stir-fried squid with the 6 simple steps below.

Step 1 – Preparing the Ingredients

Proper preparation will help eliminate the fishy odor of seafood and help vegetables retain their crunchy and delicious texture.

Squid preparation: Remove the ink sac, spine, and beak from the squid. To effectively eliminate the fishy smell, set up a small pot of water, add a few bruised ginger slices and 1 tablespoon of white wine, and bring to a boil. Blanch the squid quickly for about 1 minute, then take it out immediately and rinse under cold water. Next, score dragon-scale patterns on the squid body and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Scoring helps the squid pieces open up attractively and absorb spices better.
Vegetable preparation: Wash the pineapple and cut it into bite-sized triangular pieces. Cut tomatoes and onions into wedge shapes. Wash bell peppers and carrots, then cut them into bite-sized pieces or carve them into flowers for aesthetics. Wash celery and scallions, then cut them into segments.

Các bước sơ chế nguyên liệu làm mực xào chua cay — Steps for preparing ingredients for sweet and sour spicy stir-fried squid

Step 2 – Making the Sweet and Sour Sauce

The sauce is the “soul” that creates the appeal of the mực sốt chua ngọt dish. Mix the sauce mixture according to this standard recipe: Put into a bowl 2 tablespoons of white vinegar (or lime juice/tamarind juice), 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of chili sauce (to create thickness and a nice color), 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, and 3 tablespoons of filtered water. Stir well until the seasonings are completely dissolved.

Nước sốt là phần tạo nên vị cho món mực xào chua ngọt — The sauce is the component that defines the flavor of sweet and sour stir-fried squid

Step 3 – Sautéing the Aromatics

Place a pan on the stove and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the minced shallots and garlic and sauté until very fragrant and light golden brown.

Phi hành tím và tỏi băm đến khi ngả vàng, dậy mùi hương — Sauté minced shallots and garlic until golden and fragrant

Step 4 – Stir-Frying the Squid First

After sautéing the aromatics, transfer all the prepared squid into the pan. Stir quickly over high heat until the squid flesh firms up (about 1 – 2 minutes). When the squid pieces become firm and open up nicely, remove them to a separate plate. Do not stir-fry for too long at this step to prevent the squid from releasing water and becoming chewy.

Xào mực với lửa lớn trong 1 - 2 phút cho thịt mực săn lại — Stir-fry the squid over high heat for 1 – 2 minutes until the meat firms up

Step 5 – Stir-Frying the Vegetables

Using the same pan, add a little cooking oil and then turn by turn stir-fry the carrots, pineapple, bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions. Keep the heat high and stir quickly for about 1 minute so the vegetables retain their crunchiness and bright color.

Next, put the previously stir-fried squid back into the vegetable pan, and pour the prepared sweet and sour sauce from Step 2 evenly over it. Toss continuously and evenly over high heat for another 1 – 2 minutes so the squid and vegetables blend tightly with the smooth sauce. Finally, add the sliced celery and scallions, toss once more, and turn off the stove.

Xào rau củ vừa chín, cho mực và nước sốt vào đảo đều tay — Stir-fry vegetables until just cooked, add squid and sauce, and toss evenly

Step 6 – Finished Product

Transfer the sweet and sour stir-fried squid to a plate, and sprinkle a little ground pepper on top to enhance the pungent aroma.

The completed plate of stir-fried squid has an extremely eye-catching color: the opaque white of the squid, the red of the bell pepper, the yellow of the pineapple, and the fresh green of the celery. When tasting, you will feel the crunchy squid pieces intertwined with a rich sour – spicy – salty – sweet flavor.

Món mực xào chua ngọt với màu sắc hấp dẫn, vị ngon khó cưỡng — Sweet and sour stir-fried squid dish with appealing colors and irresistible deliciousness

Secrets to Making Authentic Sweet and Sour Stir-Fried Squid

Although the cách làm mực sốt chua ngọt is quite simple, to achieve restaurant-standard quality, you need to keep the following secrets in mind:

Stir-fry squid over high heat: Maintaining high temperature throughout the stir-frying process will help the squid cook quickly, retain its natural sweetness inside, and limit the amount of water released by the squid.
Stir-fry squid quickly to avoid chewiness: Squid is a seafood that cooks very quickly. You should only toss the squid on the stove for a short time. Stir-frying for too long will cause the squid meat to shrink, lose water, and become tough and mushy.
Only stir-fry vegetables until just cooked: Vegetables such as onions, bell peppers, and pineapple, if stir-fried for too long, will become soft, lose their natural crunch, and reduce the deliciousness of the dish.

Chỉ nên xào rau chín tới để giữ độ ngon, giòn — Only stir-fry vegetables until just cooked to keep them delicious and crunchy

Attractive Variations of Sweet and Sour Stir-Fried Squid

Besides the traditional cách làm mực xào chua ngọt using fresh squid, you can also flexibly vary your family menu with these novel and equally attractive suggestions:

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fried Dried Squid

If fresh squid is not available, you can use dried squid for preparation. After soaking dried squid in water until soft, shred it or cut it into bite-sized pieces, then stir-fry it with sweet and sour sauce. This dish has a characteristic chewy and crunchy texture with a rich flavor, very suitable as a drinking snack or to change the taste for dinner.

Mực khô xào chua ngon — Delicious sweet and sour stir-fried dried squid

Sweet and Sour Stir-Fried Squid with Pineapple

Sweet and sour stir-fried squid with pineapple is a simple yet appetizing version. With just fresh squid and pineapple ingredients, the refreshing natural acidity released from the pineapple juice permeating each crispy and sweet piece of squid will create an irresistible flavor that you will never get tired of.

Mực xào dứa chua ngọt bắt miệng — Appetizing sweet and sour stir-fried squid with pineapple

Check out more delicious stir-fried squid recipes you shouldn’t miss:

Ola Squid has shared with you the detailed cách làm mực xào chua ngọt recipe for crunchy and authentic sweet and sour stir-fried squid right at home. Hopefully, with this recipe, you will successfully execute this attractive dish to treat your loved ones. And don’t forget to visit olasquid.com to discover more unique squid cooking recipes or learn about the quality dried squid products from Ola Squid!

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Ingredients to Prepare

How to Choose Fresh and Delicious Squid for Stir-Frying