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.

---
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

Chicas Latin Heritage Foods

We are having a little difficulty with writing new posts, being occupied and all. So, I found one already all written up and rarin' to go. ;)

If anybody has more information on Latin American foods, please feel free to share.


8722 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6P 5A5
604-568-6778

(dined June 21, 2008; yes, it was that long ago)

[js]
This is another one of those "difficult" Saturday lunches.

We debated where to go and ended up here at Chicas because it was close. Plus, it seemed to offer interesting food.

Formerly, the space was occupied by a supposed Mexican restaurant. We tried those supposed tacos a couple of years ago -- and, well, suffice it to say that I've had better tacos coming from an El Paso boxed kit.

So, we were actually quite glad to see a new place has opened up. We went in and there were only a couple of tables seated. I did not find that at all surprising, considering the location of this place.

The owner, or the lady who seemed to be owner, was busy making rice and beans, and the smell permeated the place. It was a comforting smell.

[ts]
Looking at the menu, we were once again confronted by our lack of knowledge regarding Latin American foods. For example, different kinds of empanadas! We were whispering among ourselves: "What's Colombian style? What's Venezuelan style?"

But first, a ceviche.



[ts]
I believe the menu noted that this was a Peruvian ceviche? But I don't recall now. I learned a little bit about the different kinds of ceviche (after the fact) from Laylita's site.

Whatever kind it was, it was delicious!

I drank the juice! =)

I had the lomito and JS had the Colombian-style empanadas. (Details on the menu below.)







[ts]
This was the first time I've seen empanadas encased in a corn dough! Of course, with me and my cornmeal-love, I definitely liked that.



[ts]
The meal here was definitely satisfying. Will return.

We leave you with this conversation we had after our meal.

We entered the store beside Chicas where there were a couple of guys eating sandwiches. Upon noticing that we came from Chicas, one guy asked us about it.

guy: "How was it? Good?"
ts: "Yeah, it was good."
guy: "It's Mexican food, right?"
ts: "Oh, no. That was the place before. Now they don't have tacos or burritos or anything like that. It says Latin American food."
guy: "Yeah, but it's based on Mexican food, right?"
ts: "Well, actually..."
[I started thinking back to the menu, trying to remember.]
ts: "They have Peruvian food, Colombian, Venezuelan... [slight pause] oh, and Nicaraguan food."
guy: "Yeah, yeah." [in an yeah-yeah-yeah-I-know tone]
guy: "But they're all based on Mexican food, right?"

[js]
I saw TS wanting to reply again to his comment, so I just ended this conversation by saying loudly, "Yeah, sure."

There really was no point in pursuing the conversation further, given that the guy didn't even know his continents and countries.

And so we left.

Duck Shepherd's Pie, or "Duck Coop Pie"

[ts]
I think we had this idea to make duck shepherd's pie from when we had the first duck, but we already had that all planned out, so all those dishes overshadowed this idea. Besides, prolific as that single duck may have seemed, we didn't think it was enough to make shepherd's pie.

Actually, if lamb makes shepherd's pie and beef makes cottage pie, what does duck make?

I'll christen this dish Coop Pie. I'll go and trademark that.

(Although, coops are more associated with chicken. Fine, Coop Pie for chicken and Duck Coop Pie for duck. There you go.)


TS' Duck Coop Pie


[ts]
After a bit of time after our first duck, JS bought two ducks. The two duckies were both used for this dish.

Of course, before we could make my Duck Coop Pie, we did the requisite rendering of the fat, making of the broth and shredding of the meat. Then, I turned to the Joy of Cooking for a shepherd's pie recipe and gathered that the filling simply calls for cooking some vegetables and meat in broth, then thickening with flour. OK, then. I put the book away. I was ready.

But first, the mashed potatoes. I boiled some potatoes; we had russets on hand. I didn't bother peeling them. When they were done, I drained them and proceeded to mash. I used some duck broth and duck fat, but actually, most of the liquid I used was simply the water in which the potatoes were cooked.



[ts]
Our cupboards were practically bare when I decided to make this, but I was too lazy to go out and buy anything. So, for my aromatics, it was just some onions and celery (carrots too, if we had them). That weird nubby thing in the middle is a star anise arm. I figure I'd add it for a certain je ne sais quoi.



After letting them soften, I added my shredded duck meat, then frozen peas and corn. After heating them through, I added duck broth and let it boil for a little bit. The flour went in next. I let the mixture cook until it thickened.




left: duck broth; right: duck mixture + broth + flour



[ts]
Next, the assembly!

The filling went into a glass baking pan, topped with the mashed potatoes.



I didn't know what kind of pattern to do for the mashed potato top, so I ended up with this weirdo-abstract one. I also debated whether or not to do the dotting-with-mini-pats-of-butter technique for the top. As you can see, the butter won.



Into the oven: 350F for about __ minutes, until the filling was hot and bubbling. I had the foresight to put the pan on a cookie sheet. Smart. See that filling spilling over?



[ts]
This Duck Coop Pie was superb!

The filling was super flavorful; one needed only a little to flavor a whole mass of mashed potatoes. Good thing I made that mashed potato layer really thick.



[js]
The filling was really ever-so-flavourful and the duck shone through all of the mashed potatoes on top. The mashed potatoes were so light and fluffy that I felt the dish wouldn't have suffered if there were even more mashed potatoes. I guess this is one way to stretch food dollars.

As with our other duck dish (tortellini in brodo), the coop pie tasted very "Chinese," very familiar that our parents -- who normally would not eat shepherd's or cottage pie -- liked it. Or perhaps they just didn't have any choice, given that it was one of those lean days for us when there's only one thing on the table. This particular day, it was only the duck coop pie.

Our parents did go for seconds and thirds, so they must have enjoyed the pie. And the children like it too, so this one's a winner.



Another [eatingclub] vancouver Shepherd's Pie:
Shepherd's Pie with Red Pepper, Pancetta and Feta Potato "Croquette" Crust

[eatingclub] vancouver Duck dishes:
Duck Shepherd's Pie, or "Duck Coop Pie"
Duck and Orange Crêpes with Orange-White Wine SauceDuck Stock Risotto with Portobello & Chard, with Hazelnut Gremolata
Shredded Duck and Rice Noodle Soup
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa

And of course, our $5 Utility Duck Series, where all the following were made using one duck:
Duck Breast with Pomegranate-Chipotle Glaze and Guava-Jalapeño Salad
Duck (Interim)
Roast Duck Legs with Cabbage-Portobello Pappardelle
Duck Fat Potatoes
Duck Tortellini in Brodo