Sotong masak kunyit (Turmeric Squids)

This is one of my children's favourite dish. My daughter, as I write, is asking whether I can cook this for lunch today... It is actually a very simple and quick dish that my mother use to cook for me and taught me when I was very young.

The ingredients are very easy to find. The only hard part is cleaning the squids. Clean the squid by pulling the tentacles from the main body, removing the ink sac and the eyelets. Cut in half. Removing the soft bone from the body and cutting it open, scrapping whatever is inside. I usually keep the egg sac...love the gummy stuff! Remove the skin. Thereon you could choose to slice it in smaller strips or score and keep it whole. It's your choice. I prefer to slice it in smaller pieces as it cooks faster. Then you wash the squids and drain it. Add a teaspoon of turmeric.

From left: Turmeric coated squids, tamarind water (you can use seedless tamarind paste diluted with water), chilli slices, sliced onion, julienned ginger, sliced garlic and sliced shallots.

Heat up a wok with a little bit of oil until hot but not smoking and sautee the chillies, ginger and shallots until fragrant. You can literally smell the frangrance and your tummy will start to rumble. Immediately add the squids and garlic continue to stir fry, just for a couple of minutes. Then add the onions and the tamarind water. Season to taste. Stir for another couple of minutes and you are done!

The dish is really delicious with steaming hot white rice and simple cut cucumbers on the side.

Bon Apetit!