serves
4
prep
30 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 200 g squid tubes, cleaned
- 1 egg white, whisked
- 150 g (1 cup) potato starch
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red bird’s-eye chilli, thinly sliced
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
- vegetable oil, to deep-fry
Salt and pepper seasoning
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp white sugar
- ½ tsp Chinese five-spice
Salt, pepper and lemon dipping sauce (muoi tieu chanh)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Drink match 2005 Pirie Estate Riesling, Tamar Valley, Tasmania, or Asahi beer, Japan
Instructions
To make salt and pepper seasoning, combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
To make salt, pepper and lemon dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
Lay squid tubes on a chopping board. Working from the top of the tubes down to the bottom, run a knife to open them up. Score squid with a crisscross pattern, cut in half lengthwise, then slice widthwise into 5 mm pieces. Place in a bowl.
Fill a wok or large, deep frying pan one-third full with oil and heat over high heat to 180°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds).
Meanwhile, add egg white to squid. Using your hands, work egg white into the squid. Gradually add the potato starch, a little at a time, until squid is well coated and feels quite dry. Shake off the excess flour, then, working quickly with a few pieces at a time, add squid to hot oil. Using a slotted spoon, remove and discard any bits of batter that rise to the surface. Cook for 3 minutes or until light golden and batter feels firm when tapped with a wooden spoon. Using a slotted spoon, remove squid and transfer to a colander to drain.
Drain oil from wok, leaving 1 tbsp, and place over medium–high heat. Add onion, chilli and garlic, toss to combine, then add squid. Cook for 1 minute, sprinkling squid with the seasoning as you cook.
Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
Photography by Alan Benson.
As seen in Feast magazine, Sept 2011, Issue 1.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
