Mực Um, Vietnamese braised stuffed calamari, is a comfort dish mom made regularly when I was a kid. I don’t see many recipes with this name online and think it might be a dish specific to Phú Quốc, where my parents were born and raised. If you grew up eating this or a variation of it, please let me know!
For this dish, I stuffed calamari with ground pork and minced calamari tentacle mixture and braised until the calamari plumps up and the meat is cooked through. It’s super easy to make! Man, it is so delicious.AND it only took about 20 minutes.
Serve the Mực Um with a bowl of steamed rice and I’m super happy…So comforting!
Mực Um Ingredients:
2 pounds calamari, tentacles, eyes, and internal organs removed
1 pound ground pork mixture
¼ cup water
1.5 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon thick soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 shallot, finely minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Ground Pork Mixture Ingredients:
12 ounces ground pork
6 ounces calamari tentacles, minced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
Steps:
Make Ground Pork Mixture – Add all the ground pork mixture ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until combined.
Prepare Calamari – Stuff the body of each calamari with the ground pork mixture. Seal with a toothpick.
Braise Stuffed Calamari – Sauté aromatics in oil over medium heat for a few minutes. Add calamari and season with sugar, thick soy sauce, and salt. Add water and braised covered for about 15-20 minutes or until the calamari plumps up and the meat is cooked through. Uncover and remove toothpicks.
Tips:
- You don’t need a lot of water because the calamari will release its natural juices during the cooking.
- Braise the extra filling with the stuffed calamari and don’t waste anything!
No Limit Cooking 
Leave a comment