-
1
Clean the squid over a bowl, locating the ink sac behind the quill and rupturing it carefully into the reserved bowl — not the wok — so the ink stays clean and uncooked, ready to add on your own terms. Each medium squid yields approximately 1 tablespoon of ink; collect at least 3–4 tablespoons for 500 g of squid, then dilute with 1 tablespoon of water and set aside. Separate tubes from tentacles, then score the inner surface of each tube in a crosshatch at 5 mm intervals, so the flesh curls open during cooking and grips the sauce in every groove; the scoring is complete when the entire inner surface carries a fine grid.
-
2
Heat the oil in a wok over high heat, add the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, chilli, and belacan, and fry, stirring constantly, so the moisture drives off and the paste darkens and concentrates rather than stewing in its own liquid. Keep the heat high throughout, so the belacan toasts rather than steams and its sharp raw edge cooks out into something rounded and deep. The rempah is ready when it separates from the oil at the edges of the wok and the raw smell of shallot and shrimp paste has fully given way to something fragrant and sweet.
-
3
Add the squid tubes and tentacles to the wok and cook at high heat for 2–3 minutes only, turning constantly to coat every piece in the rempah. This is where the dish lives or dies: squid is tender only in the first 3–4 minutes of cooking or after a long braise of 30 minutes or more — the zone between 5 and 25 minutes produces an inedibly rubbery texture that cannot be reversed, so move without hesitation. The squid is ready to receive the ink the moment the flesh has just turned opaque.
-
4
Pour in the diluted ink, then add the coconut milk and tamarind paste, so the acid from the tamarind lifts the richness of both the ink and the coconut and keeps the sauce from sitting heavy. Stir immediately and thoroughly to coat all pieces evenly, as the sauce turns intensely black on contact and will streak if left unstirred. Continue cooking for no more than 3–4 additional minutes at high heat so the sauce reduces to a glossy, deeply black coat that clings to the squid rather than pooling at the bottom of the wok.
-
5
Taste the sauce: it should be briny from the ink, bright from the tamarind, and carry only a suggestion of coconut sweetness. Adjust with tamarind if the sauce reads flat. Serve immediately with steamed white rice.