Preparation
5 minutes
Cooking
10 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Octopus is a nutritious and delicious food, characterized by its crunchy sweetness and diverse cooking methods. TasteVN will accompany you today to get into the kitchen to make a hot pot with crispy octopus that is extremely attractive and simple right at home!
Ingredients for Crispy Octopus Hot Pot For 5 people
Octopus 300 gr Fermented rice 2 tablespoons Tomato 1 piece Spring onion 1 stalk Dill 2 stalks Coriander 1 stalk Shallot 1 bulb Garlic 1 clove Chili 1 piece Ginger 1 piece Lemon 1 piece White wine 100 ml Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Common spices a little (Seasoning/ sugar/ salt)
How to Choose Good Ingredients
How to choose fresh and delicious octopus
- The best octopus is still alive when bought and swims quickly and flexibly.
- Choose octopus with clear eyes, a bright white belly, firm and elastic body, and smooth, slightly slippery skin on the back.
- Do not choose octopus with cloudy eyes, off-white skin as this indicates that it has been stored for a long time or soaked in water. If the octopus feels soft and watery when squeezed, do not buy it.
See details: How to choose octopus correctly
What is mẻ? Where to buy?
- Mẻ or fermented rice is a traditional condiment in Vietnamese cuisine with a mild sour taste and a distinctive aroma, typically made from leftover rice or noodles.
- You can purchase mẻ at reputable stores, food stalls, or supermarkets, or to ensure better hygiene safety, you can make mẻ right at home.
See details: 3 quick ways to make mẻ that don’t clump
How to choose fresh and delicious tomatoes
- You should choose tomatoes with bright red skin that are evenly colored. The outer skin should be intact, without scratches, and firm, indicating fresh tomatoes.
- Naturally ripened tomatoes usually have a mild fragrance, which can be easily noticed when sniffed.
- Choose tomatoes that still have their stems intact, with the stems still fresh and not wilted.
- Tomatoes that are naturally ripened often have stems that are tightly attached to the top of the fruit, so when purchasing, you can gently pull to see if the stem easily detaches. If not, you can choose to buy them.
- Avoid purchasing tomatoes that are overripe, bruised, or leaking juice.
See details: How to choose fresh and delicious tomatoes
How to prepare Fermented Octopus
-
Prepare the ingredients
Purchase octopus and rinse briefly, then place it in a bowl and massage with white wine and lemon to remove the slime. After that, rinse thoroughly with cold water and cut into bite-sized pieces, then place in a strainer to drain.
Take a strainer, add the fermented rice, and slowly pour water in to filter out about 100ml of fermented water.
Garlic and shallots are trimmed, peeled, washed, and then minced. Ginger is peeled, washed, and then cut into strips. Chili is washed, stems removed, and sliced thinly.
Tomatoes are washed with diluted salt water, then cut into wedges.
Dill, green onions, and cilantro are trimmed, removing wilted leaves, washed, then shaken to dry and cut into sections.
-
Sautéing tomatoes
Place a pot on the stove, turn on high heat and add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. When the oil is hot and bubbling, add the minced garlic, shallots, and sliced ginger to sauté until fragrant.
When the garlic and shallots turn golden and the ingredients release their aroma, add the tomatoes and sauté until they change color and darken slightly, then add 400ml of filtered water and 100ml of previously filtered rice water and bring to a boil.
-
Cooking the hot pot
When the water in the pot is boiling vigorously, add the seasoning consisting of 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, and 1 teaspoon of sugar, stir well to dissolve the seasoning into the hot pot water, then add the octopus.
Continue to boil on high heat until the hot pot comes to a boil again, then taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking before turning off the stove. Add the chopped green onions, cilantro, and chili to the pot, cover for 1 more minute to cook the herbs.
The dish is ready, you can serve it in a bowl and prepare to enjoy!
-
Final Product
The tamarind-dipped octopus after completion is served in a hot bowl, extremely flavorful and attractive.
The dish carries the special aroma of cilantro, dill, ginger, and has the refreshing sour taste of tamarind. The octopus is crispy, chewy, and sweet, cooked just right, making it very tempting.
This is a hotpot dish, a simple soup that is very quick and easy to prepare, which can be served with white rice or vermicelli for an exceptionally delightful and tasty experience.
See more
Above is a guide to making the delicious and flavorful grilled octopus that is extremely simple and easy to make, and anyone can do it. Wishing you success with this recipe!
*Image and recipe source shared from Facebook Duy Trang
