squid in ink sauce

Never in a million years would I thought of cooking this dish

you see...my mom never cook this dish for our family 

yet this dish is loved by many Malaysians

so just when I was thinking on how to cook my squid today

a friend called me on the phone and naturally I asked her for some ideas 

to which she suggested this dish and gave me her recipe on making it!

thanks Danila...for this beautiful surprise 

truly an amazing and delicious dish

never would have made it without your encouragement :)

don't get distracted by its color

as the color is where the secret to its delicious taste lies :)

here's how simple it is to cook this dish:

clean 4 squids taking every care not to rupture the ink sac

cut the squid crosswise but only halfway like the picture above

heat a medium-sized non-stick pot and pour in 2 Tbsp cooking oil

saute 1 sliced onion + 3 crushed garlic + 1" sliced ginger + 5 crushed chili padi

add in the squid together with its ink sac and stir thoroughly

by this time the ink sac will rupture upon contact with heat and the gravy turns black

allow the squid to cook for a maximum of 2 mins only

remove the squid immediately from the pot as it turns opaque white 

and put it straight onto a serving bowl

add in some cilantro into the gravy and let it simmer for a further 3 mins

taste for saltiness and off the fire

pour the black gravy all over the squid 

squeeze fresh lemon juice all over the gravy and mix well

garnish with cilantro

serve immediately with rice and sambal belacan

hhmmm...delicious!!

a word on the ink
for those of you who were afraid to cook this dish because of its color
try it and you will be sorry for not cooking it much earlier in your life :)