Chilli Sotong

Ingredients:

1 kg sotong
20 cents assam OR 2-3 pieces dry assam (add water to get ½ bowl of assam water and sieve)
¾ tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 tbsp cooking oil
12 dried chillies }
14 small onions }
1 inch langkuas } blend spices together
3 cloves of garlic }
½ inch kunyit }
¼ inch belachan


Method:
1. Soak dried chillies, remove seeds, cut into pieces and boil in boiling water, remove and drain well.

2. Remove sotong eyes, mouth (at the centre of the head), black bag and white bag (next to black bag).

3. Have some slight slices on both side of sotong’s body (do not cut through).

4. Put sotong’s head into sotong’s body and secure it with tooth pick.

5. Heat wok, fry sotong without oil until ¾ cooked over medium fire (if
too dry, add in a bit of oil).

6. Fry blended spices for 10 minutes, in between add in some oil and belachan and
fry for another 5-8 minutes.

7. Add in tomato paste and fry for 5 minutes.

8. Add in assam water and sugar and fry for 5 minutes.

9. Add sotong and fry for 5 minutes, mix well.