What else can be made with squid besides grilled or deep-fried squid? There is a Vietnamese dish named Steamed Squid with Onion and Ginger (mực hấp hành gừng), which perfectly preserves the natural flavor of squid. Let me share how to make it.
Table of Contents
Steamed Squid, a simple yet delicious squid recipe
Squid is one of the most popular seafood in the world, and in Vietnam, it’s even more popular due to the country’s extensive coastline of 3,260 km. Two popular ways to cook fresh squid in Vietnam are grilling and steaming.
While grilling adds a wonderful smoky flavor to squid, steaming is the best choice to preserve the original flavor of fresh squid. Steamed squid is a super simple dish that combines fresh, prepared squid with some spices and vegetables, usually ginger, onion, or lemongrass, and then steams them. The role of ginger, onion, or lemongrass is important as they eliminate the fishy smell of squid. Steaming keeps both the natural taste and smell of the squid intact.
How does Steamed Squid taste?
To describe the taste of steamed squid, it has the essence of the sea. The flesh of the squid is thick and firm but not overly chewy. It’s not as chewy as grilled squid. It has a slight saltiness and a natural sweetness, the sweetness of seafood and algae. The fishy smell is replaced by the characteristic aroma of ginger, onion, spring onion, or lemongrass.
Dipping sauce for the dish
The traditional and most common dipping sauce for steamed squid is ginger fish sauce (nước mắm gừng). The aroma of ginger perfectly complements the squid. Additionally, steamed squid can be dipped in green chili sauce, wasabi, or mustard sauce. Personally, I prefer ginger fish sauce the most because it’s part of my childhood memory.
Ingredients
As mentioned, steamed squid is a simple dish. You can prepare it in just 15 minutes with simple ingredients: fresh squid, ginger, onion, and spring onion. Here’s the recipe for steamed squid for 4 people:
Steamed Squid
- 250g whole squid (approximately 8.8 oz)
- 1 handful of spring onion
- 1 big stalk of ginger
- 2 white/yellow onions
Dipping sauce (Ginger fish sauce) – Optional
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 bird eye chili (for those who can endure spiciness)
- 2 tbsp minced ginger
- 4 tbsp water
Tip for choosing fresh squid
Fresh ingredients, especially squid, are key to this delicious dish. If you buy fresh squid from a market or supermarket, here are my tips to select the freshest ones:
The squid should remain whole, with the head firmly attached to the body. The skin should be intact without any signs of peeling. The eyes of the squid should be clear and bright. If the eyes are cloudy and dull, and the skin has tears, the squid has likely been on ice for a long time and is not fresh. Additionally, when you touch the squid’s body, the flesh should feel firm and have a high degree of elasticity. When you press on the squid’s body, it should quickly return to its original state without leaving a dent.
How to make Steamed Squid
Step 1. Preparation
- If you buy fresh whole squid, you’ll need to remove the squid’s internal organs, ink sac, teeth, and eyes. To do so, first, gently separate the squid tentacles from the body. Then, carefully remove the ink sac located under the tentacles. Be careful not to break the ink sac, as it can squirt ink. Use scissors to cut out the eyes and gently squeeze out the beak from the mouth (located in the middle of the tentacles). Finally, pull out the cartilage from inside the squid body and clean out any remaining debris. Wash the squid thoroughly.
- Make a few horizontal cuts on the body of the squid to allow it to steam faster and make it easier to eat.
- Peel the ginger and slice it thinly. Cut the white onion into wedges. Cut the spring onions into sections.
Step 2. Steaming
- Place the squid on a steaming tray, over some slices of ginger. Then, spread spring onion, white onion, and the remaining slices of ginger above the squid.
- While arranging the squid on the steaming tray, place a steamer on the stove and start boiling the water on medium heat. Once the water is boiling and steam is rising, place the tray in and steam for 5-6 minutes. Remember, only 5-6 minutes are enough to cook the squid. After that, remove the tray from the steamer immediately.
Step 3. Serving
- Make the ginger fish sauce: crush ginger with a pestle and mortar or mince it finely. Mix it with fish sauce, chopped chili, sugar, and water.
- Serve the steamed squid hot. When the steamed squid cools down, it can have a rather fishy smell, which is much less delicious, so always eat it hot.
Do you like this recipe? Brighten my day by rating the recipe and clicking the “save” button to have this recipe right on your Pinterest board. Also, let’s be friends on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok!
15 minutes Steamed Squid Recipe
Ingredients
Steamed Squid
- 500g (17.6 oz) whole fresh squid
- 1 handful of spring onion
- 1 big stalk of ginger
- 2 white/yellow onions
Dipping sauce (Ginger fish sauce) – Optional
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 bird eye chili for those who can endure spiciness
- 2 tbsp minced ginger
- 4 tbsp water
Instructions
Step 1. Preparation
- If you buy fresh whole squid, you’ll need to remove the squid’s internal organs, ink sac, teeth, and eyes. To do so, first, gently separate the squid tentacles from the body. Then, carefully remove the ink sac located under the tentacles. Be careful not to break the ink sac, as it can squirt ink. Use scissors to cut out the eyes and gently squeeze out the beak from the mouth (located in the middle of the tentacles). Finally, pull out the cartilage from inside the squid body and clean out any remaining debris. Wash the squid thoroughly.
- Make a few horizontal cuts on the body of the squid to allow it to steam faster and make it easier to eat.
- Peel the ginger and slice it thinly. Cut the white onion into wedges. Cut the spring onions into sections.
Step 2. Steaming
- Place the squid on a steaming tray, over some slices of ginger. Then, spread spring onion, white onion, and the remaining slices of ginger above the squid.
- While arranging the squid on the steaming tray, place a steamer on the stove and start boiling the water on medium heat. Once the water is boiling and steam is rising, place the tray in and steam for 5-6 minutes. Remember, only 5-6 minutes are enough to cook the squid. After that, remove the tray from the steamer immediately.
Step 3. Serving
- Make the ginger fish sauce: crush ginger with a pestle and mortar or mince it finely. Mix it with fish sauce, chopped chili, sugar, and water.
- Serve the steamed squid hot. When the steamed squid cools down, it can have a rather fishy smell, which is much less delicious, so always eat it hot.
Video
Nutrition
Other Vietnamese Seafood Recipe
- Vietnamese Squid Rice Noodle (Hu Tieu Muc)
- Vietnamese Stuffed Squid
- Hu Tieu Nam Vang
- Vietnamese Crab Noodle (Bun Rieu Cua)
- Vietnamese Crab Soup (Sup cua)
- Vietnamese Tomato Crab Soup (Canh Rieu Cua)
- Steamed Pangasius Fish with Soy Sauce
- Pangasius Fish in Tomato Sauce
- Bun Mam (Fermented Fish Noodle Soup)