Perfect Calamari Salt Squid Recipes

CRISPY FRIED CALAMARI RECIPE

Steps:

• Slice the calamari tubes into ¾-inch thick rings.
• In a medium bowl, stir 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt in ½ cup milk.
• Add the calamari rings to the milk mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne (make sure the mixture is well combined).
• Prepare a large colander and set it on top of a large bowl. Using a pair of tongs, take a portion of the calamari rings (about ½ of them) shake off excess milk and toss the calamari in the flour mixture. Toss the calamari to coat evenly. Put the coated calamari in the colander. Repeat with the rest of the calamari.
• Turn your oven on a low 150 degrees F. Prepare a large sheet pan and set a wire rack on top. Top the wire rack with paper towel.
• Heat 4 inches of grape seed oil in a small cooking pot (I used a 2.5 quart pot) to somewhere between 350 and 365 degrees F. To test your oil, drop one calamari ring, many bubbles will form around it and the calamari will begin to float.
• Once your oil is ready, using a pair of tongs, gently add some of the calamari in and fry for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the calamari from the oil and arrange it on the paper towel on top of your prepared wire rack. Immediately season with kosher salt, then transfer to your warm oven to keep warm while you work on the rest. Repeat until you have fried all the calamari.
• Transfer the fried calamari to a serving plate and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice!

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!

PERFECT CALAMARI - SALT SQUID

Steps:

• As with most seafood, first take it back to where it was born, rinse it in cold salty ice water. (sea salt only) This will revive it.
• Cut up calamari into 1/2 inch circle strips.
• Be careful to get the little plastic looking particles out that can be found naturally in squid.
• Mix Rice Flour in a bowl with fresh ground Pink Himalayan Sea Salt and fresh ground Pepper Medley. Be careful to not get the mix too salty.
• Get the grinders that you grind yourself.
• Dip squid into the rice flour mix to get them well coated. Make sure to get the inside too.
• 1:30-2:00 min frying time maximum at about 350-400 degrees in grape seed oil. Only fry small handfuls of calamari at a time.
• The grape seed oil has a really high smoke point and won't burn, it also won't change the flavor of your seafood.
• Set the temp on a little home deep fryer to 400.
• Use a thermometer to wait until you have perfect temperature.
• To make the pink spicy sauce:.
• mix mayonnaise and hot chili garlic sauce vietnamese style together to make the pink creamy chili dip. equal ratios is usually good or add more spicy chili if you like it hot!
• Bam! get ready for a mouthgasm!

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.

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 AND PEPPER SQUID OR CALAMARI WITH CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Cut squid hoods along one side and open out. Using a small sharp knife, score inside of hoods in a diagonal pattern, without cutting all the way through. This will allow the squid to curl during cooking. Cut each squid hood into eight pieces.
• Sprinkle squid with combined pepper, salt and lemon pepper seasoning.
• Heat oil in wok or large frying pan, stir-fry squid in batches until curled and just cooked through. Serve squid with cucumber salad.
• Cucumber Salad: Combine cucumber, onion, tomato, nuts and mint in medium bowl. Add combined vinegar and oil, toss to combine.