Chinese Crisp-Fried Salt and Pepper Squid
This classic Chinese dish is a favourite for its quick cooking time and tender texture. Young squid is scored to help it curl, then coated in a coarse salt and pepper cornflour mixture. It is deep-fried until crisp and golden, then served scattered with fried chillies and spring onions, accompanied by soy sauce and lemon wedges. The entire process takes just 25 minutes to serve four people.
Ingredients
- 300 g young squid, each about 4 to 5 cm long,cleaned
- 3 cups vegetable oil, for deep frying
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 75 g cornflour
- 1 red chile, very thinly sliced,seeds and all
- 2 green onions, cut into 1 cm pieces
Method
- Use a sharp knife to slit open each squid body along one side, then score the inside in a criss-cross pattern.
- Set the prepared squid bodies aside with the tentacles.
- Pour vegetable oil to a depth of 5 cm into a deep frying pan and begin to heat it.
- Coarsely crush the sea salt and black peppercorns together using a pestle and mortar.
- Stir this crushed seasoning into the cornflour, then toss the squid in the mixture to coat it evenly.
- Fry the sliced red chilli and green onion pieces in the hot oil for 30 seconds, then remove them with a slotted spoon to drain on kitchen paper.
- Cook the coated squid body and tentacles in the same hot oil for 2 minutes, until they curl up and become crisp and lightly golden.
- Move the fried squid to a serving plate, scatter the crispy chilli and onion over the top, and serve with soy sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Sodium1780800 mg
Recipe details
CategorySquid
AuthorLene8655
