CUMI SAUS HITAM MADURA | Madurese Style Squids in Black Ink Sauce (it looks ugly but it tastes heavenly)

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I’m back. Feels like forever since my last post. Indonesia is in the transition between dry to wet season and it is just a matter of time when people start to get influenza and stuff. I was one of the few unlucky persons who suffered a bad flu in the early stage. It was hard to gather up my spirits to write again. Thank goodness, now i’m here ready to share another recipe for you.

Today i made a squid dish for lunch. Yes, i’m gonna share another squid dish recipe. Unlike the previous squid, this particular dish has been my favorite since my childhood. There is something about squids in black ink sauce that defines its top position among others. It is packed with rich flavors and the black ink really gives that unique element of taste. Tastes like a symphony of the sea inside my mouth. Hahaha. Sorry for the exaggeration. :-p

Okay, less talking nonsense and more talking about the cooking. Here is the recipe:

CUMI SAUS HITAM MADURA

Ingredients:

Main Ingredients:

• 750gr of Fresh Squids. Cleaned.
• 1 Lime. Squeezed.
• An inch of Ginger. Crush
• An inch of Galangal / Lengkuas / Laos (a stronger & more pungent version of Indonesian root from ginger family). Crushed.
• 6 Keffir Lime Leaves. Ripped.
• 2 (Indonesian) Bay Leaves. Ripped.
• 8 Bird’s Eye Chilli Peppers.
• 2 Cayenne Peppers. Sliced Diagonally.

Blended into paste:

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• 7 cloves of Garlic.
• 8 cloves of (Indonesian) Shallot.
• 3 Cayenne Peppers.
• 3 Bird’s Eye Chilli Peppers.
• 1 Tomato.

Seasonings:

• A good pinch of Salt. To taste.
• A good pinch of Sugar. To taste.

Directions:

• Cleaned the squids from the slimy innards inside the squid’s pouch and on top of its head. Be careful not to burst its ink pocket on the tip of its head. This time i didn’t clean the purple-pinkish outer layer (to keep the rustic feel, because this dish is commonly sold in street hawker stall).
• Roll and press the lime in your working surface and squeeze the juice over the cleaned squids. Let it sit for 10-15minutes.
• Put all the paste ingredients in the food processor. Add a spoon of cooking oil and 3 spoons of water to help all the ingredients blend well. Pulse it few times until it becomes slightly smooth paste.

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• In a large iron cast wok, heat up 3 spoons of cooking oil (or any preferred oils) over high heat.
• Once the oil is hot. Throw in keffir lime and bay leaves in the wok.
• Almost instantly after that, pour in the paste mixture into the wok. Add in the crushed ginger and galangal. Add salt and sugar to taste. Keep stirring until all the liquid evaporated and changed into darker color.

• When the paste is ready, toss in the squid. Stir it well until the ink burst. Mix them well until all the squids covered in the beautiful black thick ink sauce.
• Let it simmer for about 6 minutes or so until the squids cooked beautifully.

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• Lastly, throw in the peppers in the wok and give it one last stir.
• Turn off the heat and Done!

Before serving, you may add a lil bit garnishing with thinly sliced keffir lime leaves (remove the vein, roll, and slice it thinly). Serve it with steaming hot rice sprinkled with fried shallot. I love how all the tastes come together. The savory, rich and thick sauce beautifully covered the tender squids. The sliced cayenne pepper and whole bird’s eye chili peppers give an extra texture and surprise if you are (un)lucky enough to bite that spicy hot chili peppers. The sliced lime leaves will give you that last burst of freshness and pleasant citrus-y aroma. So yummy!

Give it a try, peeps! 😉

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