Vietnamese Stuffed Squid Muc Nhoi Thit

Muc nhoi thit (Vietnamese stuffed squid) was a request from one of our loyal readers, Tung from Orange County, and luckily we had extra stuffing from our stuffed tofu (dau hu nhoi thit) so we decided to honor his request.  Again, we're using the very versatile and tasty pork, bean thread noodles, wood ear mushroom stuffing that we used to stuff tomatoes and tofu in our previous recipes. If you're busy like us, you can make your stuffing in bulk and portion them in small zip lock bags to freeze and use them in whatever you would like to stuff.

Muc Nhoi Thit (Vietnamese Stuffed Squid)
printable recipe

• 14 cleaned squids (we like using small size) 
• toothpicks
• olive oil
• paprika
• sea salt 

Pork Mixture

• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 minced shallots or small onion, diced
• 1/2 cup bean thread noodles, soaked in warm water about 10 min, drain and cut in 2-3 inch length
• 1/4 cup wood ear mushrooms, soaked in warm water about 10 min, drain and cut thinly

Pre Cleaned squids are found in the frozen section, but you can also clean your own squid.   Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple has a great video with upbeat Vietnamese music to match.  Ours was pre-cleaned and we love the tentacles so we kept those on. Rinse squid and pat dry and set aside.

In mixing bowl, mix together the pork, fish sauce, sugar, pepper, salt, shallots, wood ear mushrooms, bean thread noodles and mix well.

Carefully stuff the pork mixture into the squids a little at a time, pushing it further to the end of the squid with your finger. Try not to overstuff the squid because you don't want to break it and want the meat to fully cook without overcooking the squid. Pierce the ends together with a tooth pick (see photo below).  Lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle touch of sea salt and paprika.

Heat sauce pan with about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. The pan should be on medium high heat to sear the outside -flip once,  then cover and then reduced to medium low. The trick is to not over cook the squid or else it might get tough. Cooking time will vary depending on size of your squid and how much you stuff. Fry in batches and serve immediately.

For a variation, you can add chopped tomatoes and vegetables to make a sauce for this dish.

We tested out these new Calphalon Unison Nonstick Sear pans and used only the oil that we drizzled on the squid. It worked great and left nice sear marks. 

You can use any dipping sauce you like. We like a a combination of Sriracha and hoisin sauce or  a great  summery chimichurri sauce.  Muc nhoi thit has a great charred flavor and we love the crispy tentacles along with the flavorful stuffing. A perfect snack with a bottle of beer.

We're going on vacation for a week this 4th of July to Connecticut to celebrate grandma's 80th! So we may not post--don't miss us too much! : )

We're submitting this recipe to Delicious Vietnam #3, a monthly event created by A Food Lovers Journey and ourselves. The July event is hosted by Budda Bellies. Please submit your posts to Anne at buddhabelliespdx [at] gmail [dot] com by 7 pm pacific time July 11.

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