Wok-tossed squid with Kampot pepper

By: Luke Nguyen
From: Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong
Serves: 4
Photographer: Stuart Scott

Kampot is famous for three things: crab, peppercorns and squid. Their pepper is rated as one of the best varieties in the world, on par with Vietnam’s ‘phu quoc’ pepper — so to cook it with fresh tender baby squid was just delightful. You don’t need to wok-toss the squid for long, as it cooks very quickly. If you overcook squid, it just turns tough and rubbery. If you can’t get Kampot peppercorns, regular green peppercorns will be an okay substitute.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
2 tablespoons	vegetable oil
2	garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon	cambodian chilli paste, (see note)
30g	kampot green peppercorns or fresh or brined green peppercorns
200g	baby squid, cleaned and skinned cut into 4 cm pieces, including the tentacles
1/2	onion, cut into wedges
1/4	green capsicum, finely sliced
1/4	red capsicum, finely sliced
1	long red chilli, sliced, plus extra sliced chilli, to garnish
2 tablespoons	oyster sauce
2 tablespoons	fish sauce
2 teaspoons	liquid palm sugar or shaved palm sugar
1 tablespoon	roasted crushed unsalted peanuts
60ml	coconut cream

Method

Add the vegetable oil, garlic, chilli paste and peppercorns to a hot wok. Stir-fry over medium–high heat for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the squid, onion, capsicums and chilli and stir-fry for a further 1½–2 minutes.
Now add the oyster sauce, fish sauce, palm sugar, peanuts, coconut cream and a pinch of sea salt and stir-fry for a further 1½ minutes, or until heated through.
Garnish with extra chilli slices and serve.

Note

To make Cambodian chilli paste, soak 200 g seeded large dried chillies in 500 ml warm water for 10 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out the excess water. Pound the chillies to a paste using a mortar and pestle. Add to a hot wok with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and fry over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Allow to cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.