More Adventures in Sushi

My second attempt at Sushi, Lulas estufado-Ika Zushi (stuffed squid sushi )

Sushi a Algarvia - part 2.For my second venture into sushi I tried something much easier. For a start I had my vinegared rice already made, and there was no marinading and pressing.The joy of this sushi is that if you have pre-prepared your rice you are well on course to produce a ready to eat unusual canapé within 30 minutes.This dish also grabbed my attention as it is rare to find meat used in sushi, ( don´t worry veggies if you don´t eat meat just use the squid flaps and tentacles in the mixture but reduce the cooking juice accordingly). This sweet, dry cooked minced meat goes well with vinegared rice.And of course for my spirited Algarvian twist on the proceedings I used Medronho, the Algarvian fire water in place of Sake, and substituted sweet Madeira wine for the Mirin in the original recipe

To make 10-12 pieces
2 medium squid cleaned
3 tablespoons of Medronho
2-3 tablespoons of Japanese rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon of sweet Madeira
2 tablespoons soya sauce
50g minced pork, beef or chicken ( I used pork)
2 cm fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped
1/2 quantity of vinegared rice
Wasabi or horseradish to taste


Peel the outer skin off the squid.It comes off easily if you hold the two flaps together and peel down the body. Put the 2 bodies into a saucepan and add 1 tablespoon of Medronho.
Cover with boiling water and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain, rub the surface with a damp cloth to remove any marks, then sprinkle with rice vinegar all over to retain the whiteness.
Chop the flaps and tentacles.
Put the remaining Medronho, sugar, Madeira and soya sauce in a saucepan. Mix together and bring to the boil over a moderate heat. Add the meat of your choice, the chopped suid flaps and tentacles and chopped ginger. Stir vigorously with a fork until the meat blanches.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked meat to a bowl, leaving the cooking juices in the pan. Boil the juice over a high heat for a couple of minutes until thickened. Stir the meat back into the saucepan to absorb the juice and then remove from the heat.
If you have not previously made the vinegared rice do so now. and then while still warm fold in the dry-cooked meat, and season to taste with wasabi or horseradish. Tightly stuff each squid body with half the rice mixture and using a very sharp knife, slice crossways into 5-6 pieces.