Stuffed Giant Squid, Two Ways

Stuffed Giant Squid #1

[ts]
As you know, being lazy, we don't have much patience for stuffing things. JS even found a way to make a faux-stuffed dish. So, after relenting a while ago and stuffing itsy-bitsy squid, I thought, "Never again!" (Or at least, not for a long, long time.)

Then one day, JS mentioned that she bought some squid for me to stuff. (Yes, for me to stuff.)

Fortunately, having a lazy-people-understanding between us, she bought these easy-to-stuff giant squid. (I like compound-word-making, ok?)



Since there were two giant squid, I thought I'd make two different stuffings.

Stuffed Giant Squid #1
Chinese Pork and Rice Stuffing


[ts]
This was a way to use up leftovers. Actually, I don't think they were leftovers. CSC had some potsticker filling in the fridge (waiting to be used up to make more of her now-famous dumplings), so I "borrowed" a little bit for my filling.

If you remember, that pork mixture had sesame oil, green onions, ginger, soy sauce and napa cabbage (among other incidental things). I simply grabbed a little bit and sauteed it in a pan, then added some cooked rice.



I also threw in some chooped chives. Ta-da!

Stuffed Giant Squid #2
Kale, Cervelat Salami and Potato Stuffing


[ts]
Caldo verde (a Portuguese soup of potato, kale and chouriço) is a favorite of mine; I do wish to make it more often. However, I've learned that besides JS and me (and maybe CSC), nobody else in the house eats it. (I don't know why. I mean, it's so good!)

So, I decided to make this caldo verde-esque stuffing for the squid instead.

We didn't have chorizo or anything similar; the closest thing I had on hand was some cervelat salami (kept on hand specifically as an accompaniment to corn toasties). I added slices of salami to a pan and added some shredded kale. I cooked it until the kale was wilted. Then, I added the very small amount of mashed potatoes left over from my Duck Coop Pie.



I stuffed each giant squid with their respective stuffings, closing up the holes with toothpicks, and simply pan-fried them, turning until all sides are cooked. Look, they're so funny-looking, all rotund like that.



(I scored the outside but didn't really make clear crosshatches, since my knife was dull but I didn't want to press hard for fear of cutting through.)



[ts]
They were both very nice. The kale-salami-potato-stuffed squid was a tad chewy because I left it on the heat for too long; I was busy taking pictures of the squid #1. Next time, I'll have to add egg to the stuffings for binding purposes. Otherwise, I have no complaints.

Now I have no fear of stuffing squid, as we'll probably always use giant squid for that purpose. We'll save the itsy-bitsy squid for non-stuffed purposes.

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Stuffed recipes:
Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb
Stuffed Peppers (Lamb and Rice)
Stuffed Squid (braised in tomato sauce)
Faux=stuffed Basa Fillets with Olives, Tomatoes, Lemons and Oranges
Stuffed Giant Squid, Two Ways
Stuffed Savoy Cabbage with Pork

Pork filling recipe can be found here:
Shanghai Potstickers, Faux Siu Mai and "Huo Tyeh" (aka CSC's Chinese Dumplings)

Pork filling usage:
Stuffed Giant Squid, Two Ways
Torta with Pork and Kecap Manis
Stuffed Savoy Cabbage with Pork