02-02-2006, 04:54 AM
Hi, I am trying to find out how to cook a certain squid recipe, but am failing woefully. The recipe in question seems to be served at most Chinese restaurants around the UK, and is usually called 'deep fried salted squid' or 'fried chilli salted squid' or anything similar involving squid, frying, salt, chilli, or spicy (although I wouldn't call the dish spicy as such). The squid is deep fried and crispy with (I would think) flour batter (very light and whitish, not brown in colour), usually with chillis.
At the moment, I am experimenting with taking fresh squid, cleaned and skinned, drying quickly, dipping in flour and deep frying.
First problem: flour on its own doesnt seem to stick to the squid. So I tried dipping in beaten egg, then flour, but this leaves a heavier batter when fried.
Another problem is that the squid is never as 'puffy' as at a restaurant being much thinner, and the batter seems different. I often think that I am frying it too hot as sometimes the batter goes brown, whilst the squid is just that little bit too fresh on the inside.
The squid in restaurants is usually server in kind of tubes which are kind of 'butterflyed' or 'hedgehogged' on the outside. If you like, 'checker-board' cuts. I cant get this to work either. do you leave the squid coat as a tube and criss-cross the outside, or cut strips, criss-cross and hope they curl up in the pan?
Anyway, does anybody know this recipe. Or spot the glaring errors in my attempt? Cheers for any help
oh, I have found a rough picture. This isnt exactly what I mean, but is pretty damn close:
[url="http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blphotosaltpeppersquid.htm"]http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blpho...peppersquid.htm[/url]
At the moment, I am experimenting with taking fresh squid, cleaned and skinned, drying quickly, dipping in flour and deep frying.
First problem: flour on its own doesnt seem to stick to the squid. So I tried dipping in beaten egg, then flour, but this leaves a heavier batter when fried.
Another problem is that the squid is never as 'puffy' as at a restaurant being much thinner, and the batter seems different. I often think that I am frying it too hot as sometimes the batter goes brown, whilst the squid is just that little bit too fresh on the inside.
The squid in restaurants is usually server in kind of tubes which are kind of 'butterflyed' or 'hedgehogged' on the outside. If you like, 'checker-board' cuts. I cant get this to work either. do you leave the squid coat as a tube and criss-cross the outside, or cut strips, criss-cross and hope they curl up in the pan?
Anyway, does anybody know this recipe. Or spot the glaring errors in my attempt? Cheers for any help
oh, I have found a rough picture. This isnt exactly what I mean, but is pretty damn close:
[url="http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blphotosaltpeppersquid.htm"]http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blpho...peppersquid.htm[/url]