Home cook ... Calamari as dessert 🐙

Cooking date: 28th May 2016

‘Ketupat sotong’ is my childhood favourite dessert. My late mother usually made the dish and served them during breaking fast. My sibling and I will shared the leftover after we came back from performing Tarawih prayers from the mosques. I remember vividly how I learnt to cook the ketupat sotong from my late mother, long long time ago. So, the moment hubby came back from his fishing trip ‘mencandat sotong or should I say spearing cuttle fish” in Terengganu, I make use of the big squid or calamari for the sweet dish. It may sound weird to you, but it's a norm thing to Kelantanese cooking seafood as dessert.

Tasted exactly the same as I imagine it would be

It is not difficult to make ‘ketupat sotong’ because it does not need many ingredients and they are easily available. An important ingredients in making the ‘ketupat sotong’ is squid, sticky rice and coconut milk. Other ingredients such as pandan leaves and brown sugar (gula melaka) are used to add flavour, color and evoke the fragrant. By the way, we have sold the house that we are currently staying. While waiting for the full compensation and before t's time for us to vacate the place that we stayed since 22 years ago, I better utilize the kitchen for good memory.

Cleanse inside out

Squid stuffed with flavoured glutinous rice and simmered in sweet coconut milk may seems to be a weird combination to some people. Try to make them then you would be curious how the dish will turn out. While the gravy was simmering in the pot, the lovely gula melaka and coconut milk combination flavour started to fills up the whole the kitchen. Those flavours will not fail you, I promised. Estimated time to cook the stuffed squid is about 25mins to ensure the glutinous rice is well cooked through. Please take note that should you prolong the cooking, it will cause the squid to turn tough. Anyway I just went ahead simmering the pot of glossy brown gravy until I satisfied with it's taste.

Soak glutinous rice for minimum 4 hours

A combination of gula melaka and coconut milk just makes the dish taste perfectly right. Though the squid is not as soft as how you normally cooked in other dishes but it is chewable as sufficient cooking time is required to ensure the glutinous rice be well cooked. I bet you guys would love the sweet caramel taste in the end. Important question is, "are you adventurous enough to try this dish out?".

Gula Melaka

Now let me share the ingredient with you:-

300gm fresh squids of reasonably size, like in my case 4 pieces

1/2 cup glutinous rice, soak for 4 hours in;

1/2 cup thick coconut milk and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt

Gravy :

2 cups coconut milk (1 cup thick coconut milk + 1 cup water)

90gm gula melaka, coarsely chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1 pandan leaf, cut

Stuffed squid secured the head and the body with toothpicks

And the Method's of cooking are as follows:-

Preparing the squids : remove the tentacles, discard innards and membranes. Rinse and wash the inside of the squid thoroughly. Pat dry and set aside.

Use a plate of suitable size to sink the glutinous rice and 1/2 cup thick coconut milk and a bit of salt. Soak them for minimum 4 hours or more. Doesn't matter.

Stuff the rice mixture into the squid evenly till 3/4 full. Secure the ends crosswise with toothpicks to prevent the stuffing from oozing out when the squid are cooked.

Placed everything in the pot and maintain medium fire

In a medium pot, place in the stuffed squid and pandan leaf. Add in sugar, gula melaka, salt and coconut milk. Bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Reduce to low heat and simmer until the sauce reduced to 2/3 for about 25-30mins. Remove the squid from the gravy. Cool down slightly and sliced to serve with the gravy if desired.

Close the pot lid

Stir once in a while

Serve when it is cool. Some people like it cold but the best to eat is in a room temperature. I am the only one in my family who eat this, so, I would not be surprise if no one dares to try... hehe, doesn't matter as for the record, I did some cooking on 28th May 2016!