Chili-salt squid drowning in coriander 6 May 2006

Quick and easy! Serves 4 (starter).
Prep time: about 10-15 minutes, if you can clean squid like pro, maybe 5-10
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Squid is such a lovely seafood that it’s such a pity that in Filipino cooking it is usually drowned in vinegar to remove the characteristic fishiness or langsa. (I am referring to adobong pusit.)

While squid in the Philippines is relatively cheap (about 70 pesos/kilo), I know why calamari is expensive in restaurants! One, you need to get it fresh, or even just the slightest hint of langsa spoils an otherwise great dish. And secondly, if you’ve been stuck cleaning more than a kilo of squid, you’d be familiar with the tediousness of cleaning each and every piece of squid.

This a great appetizer. But you could easily make it as being among your main dishes. I think this dish has a Thai feel to it especially if you substitute the lemons with limes.

We like to up the quantity of the coriander so that it isn’t just a garnish. The greens are as much a part of the dish - imagine half and half of coriander/squid in each bite. The medley of the lemon juice seeping into the coriander and crispy outside-yet-tender squid makes eating this such a delight. It’s sweet, sour, fresh, crispy, tender … all in one dish!

You need:
Small whole squid, about 1/2 kilo (not too big as they are too chewy)
0 flour/whole wheat flour, 1/3 cup (or plain all-purpose flour)
Chilli powder, 1 tablespoon
Sea salt, 1 tablespoon
Sugar, 1 teaspoon
Vegetable oil for deep-frying (coconut oil is good)
Coriander, a big handful, torn
Lemon, 1 piece, halved

What you do:

• Clean squid. Gently pull the head and tentacles away from the body. Remove the clear backbone (quill) from inside the body. Remove the contents of each squid (no remorse, please).

  Cut tentacles from the head just below the eyes. Discard the heads (they make frying a nightmare!).

  Remove the side wings and the fine membrane (usually pinkish with black coloring) that covers the body.

  Rinse the body, tentacles and wings well. Pat dry with kitchen paper.

  Cut squid down the center so that it opens out flat. Slice body and wings into strips, about 1/4 inch wide.

• In a large bowl (or a plastic bag), combine flour, chilli powder, sugar and salt. Add squid, including tentacles. Toss to coat, shake off excess flour.
• Deep-fry! Heat your oil in a hot wok or deep fryer until the surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add half the squid and deep-fry for about 1 minute, or until just tender and starting to color. Remove with a slotted spoon and lay on kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Fry up the rest of the squid.
• Tear your coriander on a platter. Add your squid. Give everything a generous drizzle of lemon juice. Toss and serve immediately.

This recipe is Kylie Kwong’s (go check out her presentation). I’m actually unsure if it’s the same recipe. First saw it on TV, with Yeng furiously scribbling everything down. Silly that we didn’t bother looking online, but maybe a blessing in disguise as we had to follow gut feel and hence modified it to our liking.