SALT & PEPPER SQUID

Salt & pepper squid image

Crisp, spicy coating and hot, tender squid make an irresistible combination

Provided by Barney Desmazery

Categories Starter

Time 25m

Yield Serves 4 as a starter or as a main alongside other dishes

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

85g cornflour
85g plain flour
2 tsp black pepper , cracked
2 tbsp ground Szechuan peppercorns , roughly crushed
sunflower or vegetable oil , for frying
400g squid , cleaned and cut into strips (see tips, below)
finely sliced spring onion and green chilli, to serve
1 red chilli , finely chopped
half cucumber , finely diced
1 small red onion , finely chopped
100ml rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp fish sauce

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.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 380 calories, Fat 14 grams fat, SaturatedFat 2 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 48 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 7 grams sugar, Fiber 1 grams fiber, Protein 20 grams protein, Sodium 3.29 milligram of sodium