Kam Heong Sotong (Squids In Fragrant Curry Sauce)

Kam Heong Sotong is truly a Malaysian favourite. "Kam Heong", is a Cantonese word when translated directly, means "Golden Fragrance". Just as it's name, this dish smells really good. It is usually served in Chinese restaurants, and can be cooked with various seafood and even chicken meat. The other popular seafood that is usually cooked this way is our local clams, which we called "lalah" and also delicious with fresh crabs.  

We would sometimes order this dish when we eat out at Chinese restaurants, either clams or sotong (squid).  Whenever this hot piping dish is served at the table, the fragrant smell will make your saliva glands starts working immediately!

You could cook this at home, but be prepared to buy more squids, as once they are cooked, they sort of "shrink"! And cook lots of rice, you would want a second helping! What you need is lots of fresh curry leaves, it brings a wonderful fragrance to this dish and a fair amount of dried prawns.

My Curry Leaf Plant. Curry Leaf is easily obtainable from any wet market or supermarkets in Malaysia, and very cheap too, but then, having your own plant is definitely more convenient. I grew this plant in a pot,  it is not a very big plant, but it provides me with the most vibrant green healthy fragrant leaves.

The spiciness of this dish depends on the amount of bird's eye chillies used, and for an even spicier taste, a pinch of chilli powder may be added in as well. If you prefer less spicy, use 2 or 3 bird's eye chillies. Here, I have used only 2 since my kids are eating this as well, and I have chopped it to large chunks so that it is easier to remove when serving to the kids. For extra spicier kick, chop the chillies finely so that the heat from the chillies gets distributed throughout. If a drier dish is preferred, do not add any water during cooking, but my family is a "gravy-loving family", we love gravies to eat with our rice, so I have added in about 3 tablespoons of water just for a little gravy, not too much though, as this is a fairly dry dish. Dried prawns is a must for this dish, otherwise it would not be the same, the dried prawns are soaked to soften first, then chopped to small pieces and fry till fragrant and crispy. 

The squids are sliced to rings and marinated with some corn flour,  to keep them soft and tender during cooking, as squids tend to turn rubbery and tough if cooked too long. The squids are stir-fried for a minute to briefly pre-cook them, remove and added in to the curry sauce later for a quick stir. 

Really fragrant from the curry leaves, dried prawns and curry powder. We just love the thick saucy gravy, with bits of garlic, shallots, dried prawns all coated with the delicious fragrant sauce that is a little spicy and salty with a tinge of sweetness. I could eat my bowl of rice with just this one dish alone! 

I'm sharing this with :

Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Kam Heong Sotong (Squids In Fragrant Curry Sauce)
800gm squid
2 tsp cornflour
4 garlic cloves (chopped finely)
8 shallots (chopped finely)
2 heaped tablespoons dried prawns (soaked till soften, drain and chopped to small pieces)
2 heaped tablespoons fish curry powder
6 stalks fresh curry leaves (remove stalks)
6-8 bird's eye chillies (chopped)
2 lemongrass, (2" from the bottom white section, slice lengthwise to half, and sliced to thin strips)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp sugar, or to taste
few drops of black soy sauce
cooking oil

1. Clean squid, cut to rings, marinate with 2 tsp cornflour and set aside. This is to tenderize the squid so that they will be tender and nice during cooking.
2. Heat about  1 tablespoon cooking oil in a wok or saucepan. When oil is hot, add in squids and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Scoop to a plate, keep aside.
3. In a clean wok or saucepan, heat about 3-4 tablespoons cooking oil. Add the chopped garlic and shallots, saute for about 3-4 minutes until fragrant and light brown. Add in chopped dried prawns and fry till dried prawns are fragrant, light brown and crispy. Add in the curry leaves, bird's eye chillies and lemongrass. Stir fry for another minute or two until the curry leaves releases its fragrance. Add in the curry powder, stir for a few seconds to combine and add in the squids, plus whatever juices has accumulated on the plate.
4. Add a few drops of black soy sauce, sugar and salt to taste.
5. If a little gravy is preferred, add in about 2-3 tablespoons water. Stir for a minute or two. Scoop out to a serving plate and serve hot. Enjoy!