Grilled Squid Stuffed with Minced Pork

With dill nam pla prik

THAILAND / LAOS

I wasn’t a huge fan of squid until I had one freshly grilled from a roadside hawker in Bangkok, served up with a messy trio of classic Thai dipping sauces. I politely took a piece to satisfy my travel companions, dipping it into plenty of sauce so I could mask its taste; but my first bite of the squid honestly shocked me. It was smoky, tender and delightfully toothsome. The juicy minced pork stuffing and salty dill-spiked nam pla prik dip really bring this dish to the next level; every bite is an explosion of flavours and textures.

Serves 2–4 as a side

• 4 medium squid, cleaned
• coconut milk, for basting
• a pinch of sea salt

For the stuffing

• 1 tablespoon groundnut oil
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 or 3 bird’s-eye chillies, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
• 250g fatty minced pork
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons unrefined light brown sugar
• 1 handful of coriander
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• zest of 1 lime

For the dipping sauce

• a handful of fresh dill
• nam pla prik (see here)

You will also need

• toothpicks

1. Heat the groundnut oil in a wok or frying pan over a high heat and fry the shallots, chillies and garlic for a few seconds, until fragrant. Add the kaffir lime leaves, minced pork, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and sugar, stir-frying for another few minutes until cooked. If the pork is giving out a lot of juices that are making the mixture too watery, scoop the mixture out with a slotted spoon and reduce the remaining juices until you get a concentrated sauce. Return the meat to the pan and turn the heat off.
2. Finely chop the coriander, stalks included, and add to the mixture with the lime juice and zest. Stir until everything is mixed well.
3. Separate the tentacles from the body of the squid. Don’t chuck them, though; they are just as good grilled plain. Allow the pork mixture to cool, then stuff each squid tube and secure the ends with toothpicks. Do not be greedy and overstuff! Lightly score the squid along the tube with a sharp knife, making shallow diagonal cuts about 2cm apart.
4. When ready to cook, brush the stuffed squid and reserved tentacles with coconut milk and season with a pinch of salt. Place on the barbecue and grill on a medium heat, flipping occasionally and basting with the coconut milk. As the pork is already cooked, you only need enough time for the filling to heat through and the squid to be just cooked and lightly charred. The squid tubes should take about 4–5 minutes, while the tentacles will only take 1–2 minutes.
5. Finely chop the dill and stir into the nam pla prik. Slice the squid and serve alongside the dipping sauce.

Note: Any leftover minced meat filling can be used to top noodles and salads, or stuffed into lettuce cups for a quick party canapé (much like lettuce cups kueh pie tee, here).