top of page

Light & Fresh Calamari

In case you don't know, I was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam and lived there until my family immigrated to the U.S. when I was 8 years old. It's a gorgeous, small beach town in central Vietnam that is anchored by tall mountains on one side and the vast ocean on the other side. With the ocean, seafood was plentiful. I ate seafood that was caught within 24 hours almost everyday. It was cheaper than meat and poultry. The variety was wide, too. Having access to fresh and high quality seafood is one of the things I missed the most about living in Nha Trang.

The boats pictured are fishing boats. Fishing is the main industry in Nha Trang.

Some common ways to cook seafood is to grill, steam, or boil them in soup. Here are some mollusks and crabs dishes that might not be too common in Virginia.

A dish that my family made often in Nha Trang that we could still make in CT and in VA, for me, is a calamari stir-fry dish. It's super simple to throw together and it's healthy. I also love the colors in it! This is a great summer dish. Sometimes, I make it in the winter and pretend that it's 80 degrees outside :)

Feel free to adjust the ratio of the vegetables to your desire. I wouldn't skim on the pineapple, though.

Light & Fresh Calamari

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb whole squid*

  • 2 stalks of celery

  • 2 medium tomatoes

  • 1 onion

  • 1/3 fresh whole pineapple**

  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

  • 1-2 teaspoon fish sauce

  • Pinch of salt

  • Pepper

  • Dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

*Whole squids work better for this dish than the pre-sliced ones at the store. I often find that the pre-sliced ones are too thick, which would be too chewy for this dish. Whole squid tend to be thinner, more tender, and have better flavor.

**Absolutely no canned or frozen pineapple! If you can't find fresh pineapple, may I redirect you to a different recipe? I'm usually not a stickler for using the exact ingredient, but the fresh pineapple really makes this dish. If you use anything else but fresh, it would greatly compromise the flavor.

INSTRUCTIONS:

In short....cut everything into 1/2" pieces. Stir-fry the calamari and onion in a wok/frying pan for a couple of minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables. Season with fish sauce, pepper, and a little bit of salt and/or pepper flakes if you want. The calamari is done when it's no longer translucent. XONG! ("done" in Vietnamese)

In more details...

Cut the squid into 1/2" rings. Unless you're squeamish, save the heads...unless yours just came with the tube/body. If you got a whole, uncleaned squid, remove the cuttlebone, ink sack, and head. Here's a helpful video on how to clean the squid.

Next, cut your vegetables. They should be approximately the same size and shape so they're cooked in the same amount of time. Cut the celery at a 45 degree angle, in 1/2" slices. The tomatoes should be 1/2" wedges. Onions in 1/2" wedges or you can cut them in half rings. Cut the pineapple into 1/2" pieces.

Heat up a wok or a large frying pan on medium-high heat. When your cooking vessel is warm, add the oil. You can even use an oil spray because this is a light stir-fry. Then, add the calamari and onion and cook them for a couple of minutes until the calamari is almost done. Calamari becomes opaque as it cooks. Finally, put in the rest of the vegetables and pineapple. Stir-fry for about 5 more minutes.

Season with fish sauce and pepper. Taste, then add more fish sauce or salt to fit your palette. If you want a little kick, add some red pepper flakes.

Serve with rice or rice noodles. The liquid from the stir fry goes well with noodles.

Plating isn't so on point here, please forgive me.

bottom of page