Salt and Pepper Squid

Making Salt and Pepper Squid

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1. Pat the squid completely dry and leave it on kitchen paper while you prepare everything else. Wet squid spits violently and will not crisp.

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2. Toast both peppercorns in a dry pan for 2 minutes until fragrant, then grind with the salt and five spice to a coarse powder.

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3. Mix the cornflour, rice flour, baking powder and 2 teaspoons of the spiced salt in a bowl.

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4. Heat the oil to 195°C / 385°F — it must be very hot for the squid to cook in the time available.

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5. Toss the squid through the flour mixture, shaking off every loose speck, and fry in three small batches for 60 to 90 seconds each until pale gold and crisp. Drain on a rack.

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6. Pour off the frying oil. In a clean wok, heat the tablespoon of oil and fry the chilli and garlic for 20 seconds until just fragrant, not browned.

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7. Add the squid and spring onions, sprinkle over another teaspoon of spiced salt, and toss for 20 seconds.

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8. Serve immediately with lime wedges and the remaining spiced salt on the side.

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Small Things That Help

• Score the inside of the squid bodies in a diagonal crosshatch — they curl attractively and cook faster.
• Ninety seconds is the ceiling. Set a timer if you are cooking for people and likely to be distracted.
• The spiced salt keeps for a month in a jar and is excellent on chips, chicken wings and roast potatoes.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.

What Goes With Salt and Pepper Squid

• Cold lager or a dry Riesling
• Sweet chilli sauce or mayonnaise with lime
• A crunchy pickled salad

Leftovers and Storage

Eat within minutes of frying. Squid does not survive refrigeration and reheating in any recognisable form.

What's in a Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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