Ingredients
Preparation
Shallot Sauce
- In a large skillet, brown the shallots in the oil. Add the brown sugar and garlic and continue cooking until the sauce caramelizes, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 2 minutes. Season with pepper. Set aside.
Stuffed Calamari
- Finely chop the tentacles of the calamari. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the chopped calamari tentacles with the pork, green onions, garlic, cilantro, fish sauce, and hot pepper sauce.
- With your fingers or with a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, stuff the calamari with the stuffing. Close each calamari with a toothpick.
- Place the calamari in the skillet with the sauce and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 7 minutes per side. Cook until a thermometer inserted in the centre of the stuffing reads 74 °C (166 °F).
- Slice the calamari. Divide the soup into bowls or soup plates and top with the calamari. If desired, garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.
Note
In Vietnamese cuisine salt is omnipresent, particularly because of nuoc mam, a salty fish sauce, one of the basic condiments of Vietnamese cuisine. By comparison, soy sauce seems to have less importance than in other Asian countries.