Salted Squid with Green Chili Sambal

 Salted Squid with Green Chili Sambal is spicy, salty, and savory with an intense umami flavor. You won’t be able to stop yourself from having a few bowls of rice as they are the perfect match!

Salted Squid with Green Chili Sambal is known as “Cumi Asin Cabe Ijo” in Indonesia. It is made from salted squid, squid that has been preserved in salt, and cooked with fresh green chilis and spices. The salted squid adds saltiness and is packed with umami flavor. Meanwhile, the green chili sambal adds a great flavor, spiciness, and wonderful aroma to this dish. 

Serve this dish as a main or side dish. It is delicious and addictive and goes so well with rice since the dish is quite salty and spicy. 

The Ingredients You Need

Here are the ingredients you need to make Salted Squid with Green Chili Sambal:

• Salted squid – Salted squid is squid that has been preserved or cured with salt. It is prepared by dry-salting or brining the squid. In Indonesia, salted squid is called “cumi asin“. It is usually made with baby squid. Since baby squid is small, the whole squid can be eaten.
• Garlic – For aromatic flavor and aroma.
• Shallots – Shallots used in Southeast Asian cuisine tend to be small with a red exterior and white interior. Unlike western shallots which tend to be larger, Indonesian shallots are small and sweeter in flavor. The individual cloves resemble garlic cloves with pointed tapered ends.
• Curly green chilis – Curly green chilis are the under-ripe curly red chilis. They are harvested when still green for the color. They taste mildly spicy.
• Green bird’s eye chilis – Green bird’s eye chilis are the under-ripe bird’s eye chili. They are small but quite hot, spicier than curly green chilis.
• Kaffir Lime leaves. – They add a fresh citrus aroma to the dish. 
• Green tomatoes – Green tomatoes are basically under-ripe red tomatoes. They have a firm, crunchy texture, and a tart, acidic flavor. It adds freshness to the dish. 
• Seasonings – Granulated mushroom bouillon, granulated sugar, and ground white pepper. Since the salted squid is already salty, you don’t need to add salt. 

How to Adjust the Spicy Level

The green chili sambal in the dish may look somewhat intimidating. Yes, this recipe can be too spicy for some people. However, you can easily adjust the chili to your preferred spicy level.

• Reduce the spiciness – You can omit the green bird’s eye chilis. If you feel like curly green chilis are still too spicy for you, you can substitute them with other less spicy green chilis.
• Make it spicier – Double the amount of green bird’s eye chilis in this recipe to make the dish spicier.

How to Make Salted Squid with Green Chili Sambal

1. Soak the salted squid in hot water for 10-15 minutes to soften and rehydrate the squid. Drain the water. Rinse and rub a few times until the rinsing water comes out clean. Pat dry the squid with a paper towel.
2. In a food processor, process garlic, shallots, curly green chilis, and green bird’s eye chilis until minced. If you don’t have a food processor, you can mince them with a knife.
3. Fry the salted squid until half-cooked. Remove the salted squid from the oil.
4. Using the leftover oil from frying the salted squid, add the minced spices, kaffir lime leaves, and green tomatoes. Stir-fry until the chilis are cooked and turn darker.
5. Add the half-cooked salted squid, granulated mushroom bouillon, granulated sugar, and ground white pepper. Stir-fry until the squid is fully cooked.
6. Transfer to a serving plate. Discard the kaffir lime leaves.

How to Serve

Salted Squid with Green Chili Sambal can be served as a main or side dish. However, it cannot be served just as it is since salted squid tastes super salty. The dish has to be paired with rice to neutralize the saltiness and spiciness. 

Salted Squid with Green Chili Sambal

5 from 2 votes

Author: Taste of Nusa

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Course: Main, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indonesian

Difficulty: Intermediate

Dietary: Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free

Servings: 8

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Salted Squid with Green Chili Sambal is spicy, salty, and savory with an intense umami flavor. You won't be able to stop yourself from having a few bowls of rice as they are the perfect match!

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Ingredients

 

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• ▢ 9 oz (250 gr) salted squid
• ▢ 6 cloves (25 gr) garlic
• ▢ 12 (50 gr) shallots
• ▢ 15 (50 gr) curly green chilis
• ▢ 1/3 cup (25 gr) green bird’s eye chilis
• ▢ 10 kaffir lime leaves, (5 joined leaves) bruised
• ▢ 2 small green tomatoes, cut into 4 pieces, optional
• ▢ 1 tbsp granulated mushroom bouillon
• ▢ 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• ▢ 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions

Preparation

• Soak salted squid – In a large bowl, soak salted squid for 10-15 minutes to rehydrate and reduce the saltiness. Set aside.
• Mince the spices – While waiting for the salted squid to soak, add garlic, shallots, curly green chilis, and green bird's eye chilis into a food processor. Pulse until minced. Set aside.
• Wash salted squids – Drain the water. Rinse and rub the salted squid thoroughly a few times with cold water to remove any sand and squid ink. Pat them dry with a paper towel. Set aside.

Cooking Process

• Half cook the salted squid – In a large frying pan, heat oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the salted squid. Be sure to thoroughly dry the salted squid before you fry them. Fry for 4-5 minutes or until they are half-cooked while stirring occasionally. Be careful with oil splattering when frying the squids. Use a pan lid or splash guard to prevent grease splatter. Once they are half cooked, remove the salted squid from the oil into a bowl. Set aside.
• Cook the spices – Using the leftover oil used from frying the salted squid, add the minced spices. Stir fry until fragrant. Add kaffir lime leaves and green tomatoes. Stir fry until the chilis are cooked and turn darker for about 3-4 minutes.
• Add the half-cooked salted squid and stir until combined. Add mushroom bouillon powder, granulated sugar, and ground white pepper. Stir fry until the squids are cooked. Do not overcook or the salted squid will become tough. Turn off the heat.
• Serve. Transfer to a serving plate. Discard the kaffir lime leaves. Serve with rice.

Notes

Adjust the spiciness – Curly green chilis taste mildly spicy while green bird’s eye chilis taste hot spicy. You can omit the green bird’s eye chilis to reduce the spiciness or double them to make the dish spicier.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 222kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 457mg | Potassium: 300mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 284IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg

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