Stir-Fried Cuttlefish with Mixed Veggies

A stir-fried dish that originated in Penang, Malaysia, jiu hu char consists of dried cuttlefish (jiu hu), jicama, cabbage, carrots and leeks. It’s considered a Peranakan dish, created by descendants of Chinese immigrants from the Fujian province who combined the flavors of Chinese and Malay fare to create a fusion cuisine of their very own.

Jiu hu char is typically cooked and eaten during special occasions such as Chinese New Year and other Buddhist festivals. The stir-fry can be enjoyed with rice or as a filling in lettuce wraps. It’s packed with a ton of flavor from the various vegetables and is definitely a crowd-pleaser! If you want to make it a pescatarian dish, you can eliminate the pork and use vegetable broth instead.

Jiu Hu Char (Stir-Fried Cuttlefish with Mixed Veggies) Recipe

Ingredients

Broth:

• 2 pieces pork belly
• 1 medium pot of water
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• Salt to taste

Stir fry:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 bulb garlic, chopped finely
• 1/2 cup shallots, chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1.5 cups red onions, sliced finely
• 1.5 cups leek, sliced finely
• 1.5 cups Beijing cabbage, sliced thinly
• 1 cup dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water and sliced thinly
• 1 Tablespoon tao jio* (fermented bean paste), chopped finely
• 1 cup shredded dried cuttlefish*, soaked in water with a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
• 2 medium jicama, peeled & cut into thin matchsticks
• 2.5 cups carrots, peeled and shredded
• Soy sauce to taste
• Salt to taste

*If you are in the US, Australia or Europe, dried cuttlefish and tao jio can be found in Asian supermarkets.

Method:

Boil the pork belly pieces in a medium pot of water with garlic and salt. Take out the pork belly pieces and when they have cooled down, chop them into small pieces. Reserve the broth.

Heat up ½ cup oil over medium heat in large wok. Fry garlic and shallots until golden brown. Remove them and most of the oil and place in a bowl.

In the same wok, fry these items separately (adding the garlic/shallot oil when needed) and place in a large pot when ready:

• Pork belly pieces with 1 teaspoon sugar
• Leek and red onions
• Cabbage
• Mushrooms with ½ teaspoon of sugar

Remove the shredded cuttlefish from the water it is soaking in. Fry it with the tao jio and remove when the cuttlefish shreds are curly and browned.

Add more shallot/garlic oil to the same wok. Fry the jicama and carrots for a few minutes. Add salt to taste and a few ladles of broth. Continue to stir and cook until the broth has evaporated and the vegetables are soft.

Combine the cooked jicama and carrots, as well as the cuttlefish with all the other ingredients in the large pot. Stir together in low heat for a few minutes and add salt and soy sauce to taste.