CALAMARI PATTIES (CHẢ MỰC)

As Vietnam is a coastal country, our people have been very creative with how they cook seafood. One of Vietnamese unique seafood recipes is seafood patties. You can literally make patties out of any kind of seafood - shrimps, fish, squid, etc. These patties are traditionally served as the protein dish of the meal, along with rice and vegetables.

In my post today, I will share with you our traditional recipe and my fusion take on this Calamari patties - both casual and high-end dining.

CALAMARI PATTIES

Calamari, wild caught, cleaned: 16 oz

Pork, sliced: 5 oz

Dill: 0.25 oz

Better Than Bouillon Lobster paste: 1 tbps

Fish sauce: 1/2 tbps

Water: 3 tbps

All purpose flour: 2 tbps

FUSION VERSION - EXTRA INGREDIENTS

Carrot: 2 counts

Asparagus: 5 counts

Micro mix green: 2 handful

Garlic cloves, finely chopped: 3

Chili pepper, finely chopped: 1

Ginger, finely chopped: a few slices

Fish sauce: 3 tsps

Granulated sugar: 2 tsps

Lime juice: 3 tsps

English muffin: 1

Mayonnaise: 2 tbps

Sriracha: 3 tsps

Lemon zest: 1 tsp

RECIPE

PATTIES MIXTURE:

Slice the calamari into small strips. Add calamari and pork into a mixing bowl with fish sauce, water, and lobster paste. Let it marinate for 15 minutes.

Blend the mixture well. It is OK to have a few crumbs of calamari - it actually makes the texture interesting.

Chop the dill then add to the mixture, or you could add the dill to the mixture while blending.

Add flour to the mixture then it is ready to go into the pan.

TRADITIONAL RECIPE

Form the patties, and fry at medium heat for 15 minutes each side. Drain the oil from these patties by placing them on paper towel.

The patties are ready to serve with rice and vegetables! :)

FUSION TAKES

Patties: need to be larger size (to fit a muffin) and to be large enough for an appetizer. First fry these patties on medium heat for 10 minutes each side, then bake them for 18 minutes in the oven at 350F.