Salt And Pepper Fried Squid With Spicy Lemongrass Dipping Sauce Food

SALT AND PEPPER CALAMARI

Steps:

• For the calamari: In a large heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat to 360 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, stir together the cornstarch and flour with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Toss the squid in the cornstarch, being sure to completely coat.
• Working in batches, lift the squid from the cornstarch, shaking to remove any excess, and carefully place in the oil. Fry until lightly golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on a baking sheet lined with a brown paper bag. Repeat with the remaining squid.
• For the dipping sauce: Combine the soy sauce, chili sauce, lime juice, garlic, scallions and ginger in a small bowl. Stir together and serve with the calamari.

SALT AND PEPPER SQUID

Steps:

• First prepare your squid. Rinse it well in cold water. Cut the tentacles off using one cut, keeping about a 1/4 inch of the hood in order to end up with one piece of calamari that includes all the tentacles. If you're using larger squid, you can cut these pieces lengthwise in half in order to make them bite-sized. Having each piece be roughly the same size is important for achieving the same cooking time for each piece of calamari. Drain the squid pieces in a colander and transfer to a bowl.
• Marinate the squid in the shaoxing wine and sesame oil. Toss gently and set aside.
• In a medium deep pot, add enough oil so that the level of oil reaches 4 inches up the side of the pot. Heat the oil until the temperature reaches 325 degrees.
• While you're waiting for the oil to heat, prepare your dry mixture. Combine the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, cornmeal, salt, and white pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• When the oil reaches temperature, you're ready to start dredging your squid. Work in batches of small fistfuls of calamari. Gently squeeze off any liquid and dredge the squid in the dry mixture.
• Using a long-handled sieve or slotted spoon, lower the calamari into the hot oil. Gently move the calamari pieces back and forth. Let them fry until golden brown, about 2-2 1/2 minutes. Remove all the calamari and let drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Taste one piece of calamari for saltiness (be careful, it's hot). You can sprinkle more salt immediately after frying to your taste. A necessary step, however, is to crack some fresh white pepper over the freshly fried squid. Continue frying in these small batches and seasoning with white pepper until you've fried all the squid.
• Now the next phase: stir-frying the fried squid. Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the ginger and let it fry in the oil. After about 20 seconds, add the garlic. Stir the garlic around the wok quickly in order to prevent burning. When the garlic gets lightly golden in color, add the peppers. Continue to stir fry for another 30 seconds.
• Add the squid to the wok and stir fry quickly in the aromatic mixture for about a minute or so. Plate and serve immediately with white rice! And don't leave those crispy pieces of garlic and pepper behind!

SPICY SEAFOOD DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Grill garlic and chiles: Preheat charcoal grill according to grill directions to medium heat, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, peel garlic; slice larger cloves in half. Skewer garlic and place on the grill. Remove chile stems, skewer sideways, and place on the grill. Grill garlic and chiles for 8-10 minutes, flipping after 4 minutes. Note: Alternatively, garlic and chiles can be charred in the oven. Preheat to broil. Place on a baking sheet 4-6 inches under the heat source for 6-8 minutes, flipping halfway through, until both sides are charred.
• Cilantro: Place a cloth towel under the mortar to keep it stable. Trim half of the cilantro stems, roughly chop, and place in the mortar along with the salt. Use pestle to pound the stems and salt into a paste. Finely chop remaining cilantro bunch (stems and leaves); set aside.
• Sauce: Garlic and chiles are done when they're soft, cooked through, and lightly charred. Remove from skewers and place into the mortar. Pound into the cilantro-salt mixture to break the ingredients down to a smooth paste. Add sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce to the mortar; stir around to combine. Add 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (if there's any remaining, save for another recipe); transfer to a bowl and serve. Makes about ¾ cup. You can store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for several days, but it tastes best immediately after it's made.

FRIED CALAMARI WITH SPICY RED SAUCE

Steps:

• Add the olive oil to a medium pot over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes and stir until the tomato paste is thoroughly incorporated. Add the crushed tomatoes to a food mill and process the tomatoes directly into the pot. Add the grated carrots and season with kosher salt. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Cover and put aside to keep warm.
• Heat the canola oil in a large Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet tray with paper towels.
• Add the rice flour, semolina flour, pepper and 2 teaspoons kosher salt to a large shallow dish and mix until thoroughly combined. Working in 3 batches, toss the calamari, pickled pepper slices and rosemary sprigs in the seasoned flour, then scoop them out with a pasta spider and shake off the excess; transfer to the oil. Fry for 90 seconds, then remove to the paper towels and season with flaky sea salt. Repeat until all the calamari is cooked.
• Serve with the lemon wedges and spicy marinara on the side.

SALT AND PEPPER FRIED SQUID

Steps:

• If using frozen calamari/squid, defrost overnight in the fridge then drain off any excess liquid and pat dry with paper towels. If you're using whole squid, cut the tubes into thick rings with a sharp knife before dredging with flour and deep frying.
• In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt and black pepper.
• Add the squid to the flour mixture and dredge, making sure each piece of calamari/squid is completely covered and that the pieces are separate.
• Heat enough oil to fry the Calamari in a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium high heat.
• Once the oil is hot, shake off the excess flour then add the calamari in batches and cook until golden brown and crisp.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or a wire rack before serving.
• Combine the mayonnaise and garlic together in a small bowl.
• Serve the squid with garlic mayo and lemon wedges.

SALT AND PEPPER SQUID WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat a saute pan very hot and add the salt. Reduce the heat and saute for 3 to 5 minutes. Turn heat off and add the peppercorns. Mix and let stand. For the squid, score the squid on the inside with a criss-cross pattern then cut them into 2-inch triangles and set aside. To make the batter, slowly add cold water to the flour and baking powder to achieve a runny pancake batter. Whisk in the oil. In a fryer or wok, deep fry the squid until golden brown, season with seasoned salt and set aside on paper towels. In the same wok, drain the oil leaving 2 tablespoons and caramelize the shallots, peppers and chiles, about 4 minutes. Season and add back the squid, mix quickly.
• PLATING: On a large oval, plate the squid.
• WINE: Artesa Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, 1998, Napa

SZECHUAN PEPPERED CALAMARI (SALT AND PEPPER SQUID)

Steps:

• If you got whole squid, clean them first: gently pull the head and tentacles away from the body, then pull out the backbone (quill, aka cuttlebone) from inside the body and discard it and the intestines and ink sac; cut the tentacles from the head just below the eyes and discard head; remove membrane/skin from body.
• (How you cut up the squid at this point is a matter of preference, but here's how I like it.).
• Cut the larger tentacles away from the smaller ones, so that you get some single tentacles in the mix.
• Pull or cut the wings away from the body.
• Cut the body down the center so that you can open the two sides up flat, then make strips that are between 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide and about 1 to 1 1/2 inch long; you can also cut the body into 1/4-inch wide tubes, if you like.
• Rinse all the cut pieces, tentacles, and wings well in a sieve, and let drain.
• In a dry skillet, roast the peppercorns over medium high heat until they begin to smoke; remove from heat, let cool, then use a mortar and pestle or other grinder (I use a coffee grinder) to make into a fine powder.
• In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, and powdered peppercorns.
• Add the drained squid pieces, and toss or stir well with your hand to coat them well, shaking off excess.
• Heat oil in a hot wok or deep heavy pan until very hot (the surface should seem to simmer slightly - you can test it with a single piece to see if it's not enough), then deep fry the squid in batches for 1 to 2 minutes until tender and beginning to turn golden. Do not overcook or your cooked squid will turn rubbery -- blech.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels.
• Serve immediately with dipping sauce - we like garlic chile sauce, but cocktail sauce or aioli is nice, too.

SALT & PEPPER SQUID

Steps:

• To make the dipping sauce, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved, then set aside. Mix the cornflour and plain flour with both peppers and 2 tsp sea salt in a large bowl, then set aside. Line a tray with kitchen paper and make sure you have more salt to sprinkle with.
• Heat about 7cm of oil to 180C in a deep fryer, wok or deep pan. If you don't have a thermometer, you can test it with a cube of bread - it should brown in 20 secs. Coat the squid well with the flour mix and fry in batches for about 2 mins each or until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to lift out the squid, then drain on the kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little more salt. Serve the squid scattered with the spring onion and chilli, with the dipping sauce on the side.