Grilled Stuffed Squid or Inihaw na Pusit is a popular appetizer or pulutan as we call it in Filipino. You will noticed that there are a few variants when preparing and stuffing inihaw na pusit or grilled stuffed squid.
When making this dish, it is best to use huge squid. First, you have to clean the outside and inside of the squid in running water. Some people might even take out the skin of the squid. Once it is clean, it can be marinated or not before stuffing it. Need help how to clean a squid?
Marinate the squid for an hour or longer in olive oil, minced ginger and garlic, garlic powder and salt. If you like it lemony, add lemon juice to the marinate but optional.
The stuffing are garlic, ginger and tomato. Red onion is optional. If you prefer spicy, add serrano peppers. Depending how spicy you like it, you can keep or discard the serrano seeds. If you remove the seeds make sure to wear gloves. All the ingredients can be minced or chopped manually or in a food processor. Mix all the chopped ingredients and season with salt, ground black pepper and garlic powder.
Once I have prepared the stuffing, I divide it in half. Some people might not like it spicy. So half of the stuffing will have serrano peppers and the other half does not. That will make everyone happy!
Grill or cook it in a lightly greased cast iron. Don’t overcook the squid or you’ll end up with a rubbery texture that would be hard to chew instead of a delicious juicy, tender and flavorful squid.
Inihaw na Pusit is one of the favorite Filipino pulutan (appetizer) during Happy Hours. Serve it with beer or rice, regardless it is delicious. Enjoy!
How to Cook Grilled Stuffed Squid (Inihaw na Pusit)
Grilled Stuffed Squid (Inihaw na Pusit)
Ingredients
- 5 huge squid cleaned with or without the head & tentacles
Squid Marinate
- 2 thumbs ginger minced
- 1 head garlic minced
- ¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 lemon squeeze the juice (this ingredient is optional)
Squid Stuffing
- 4 large tomato chopped into small cubes
- 4 thumbs ginger minced
- 2 garlic heads minced
- 1 ½ large red onion optional
- 2 serrano peppers seeded & minced (if you don’t like spicy this is optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Spicy Vinegar Dip
- ½ cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 6 Thai chili peppers whole or minced
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Clean the inside and outside of the squid. Remove the head and tentacles if desired and grill it separately.
- Combine ginger, garlic, olive oil, salt and garlic powder and marinate squid for an hour or longer in the fridge. If you like it lemony, then add the lemon juice but this is an optional ingredient.
- Prepare the stuffing. Combine the chopped tomatoes, minced ginger and garlic. Add chopped red onion if desired but optional. Season with salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper. Mix all the ingredients and set aside.
- Divide the stuffing evenly among the squid. Note: Some people might prefer it not spicy so it is best to divide the stuffing in half with and without the minced serrano peppers.
- Drain and reserve the squid marinate to use for basting.
- Stuff the squid.
- Secure the top of the squid with toothpick to prevent the stuffing from coming out.
- Heat the grill and place squid cooking each side for about 3 – 5 minutes and basting it with the squid marinate.
- Note: It is also flavorful if cooked in a lightly greased cast iron.
- Make sure not to overcook squid. It should be tender and juicy instead of rubbery.
- Serve hot with spicy vinegar dip. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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