Salt & Pepper Squid
As featured in A Helping Hand: Delicious Recipes in English & Tagalog
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This makes a delicious starter and as they are best eaten with your fingers, people don’t even need to be sitting down at the table. Serve alongside the Summer Roll dipping sauce (see book for recipe) or a small pot of shop-bought mayo, enlivened with a good squeeze of lime, salt and pepper and a dash of paprika.
SERVES 4
500g squid, including any tentacles
3⁄4 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp salt flakes (Maldon)
100ml sunflower oil
3 tbsp flour
4 tbsp cornflour
METHOD
Ask your fishmonger to clean the squid and remove the inner beak. Cut the flesh into rings (about 1-1.5cm wide) and/or triangular pieces, leaving any tentacles whole, unless they’re ridiculously long.
Place the whole peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a high heat and toast them for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and crack and grind them into a lumpy black powder. There is no need to pulverise them into dust, but equally you don’t want enormous un-cracked lumps either. Add the salt and mix well.
Pour the oil into a frying pan and heat. You need the pan to be half full of oil (so add more or less than the stated amount depending on the size of your pan).
In a ziplock bag, shake up the flour, cornflour, salt and pepper. Toss the squid inside and shake it again.
Test the temperature of the oil with a small piece of bread. It should float to the top and turn golden within 20 seconds. You are now ready to fry and will need to do so in batches.
Stand well back as the oil will spatter. Shake off any excess peppery flour from the squid rings back into the bag before adding the pieces of squid to the hot oil. After about 2 minutes, when the batter has turned a light golden colour, turn the rings to cook the other side (for about 1 minute).
Once each batch is ready, transfer the squid onto a plate covered with kitchen towel to absorb any oil. When everything has been cooked, arrange the squid rings on a large plate or platter. Serve immediately.
PUSIT NA MAY ASIN & PAMINTA
PARA SA 4
500g pusit kasama ang mga galamay
3⁄4 kutsarang buo na paminta
1 kutsarang salt flakes (Maldon)
100ml mantika na sunflower
3 kutsarang harina (plain flour)
4 kutsarang cornflour
PARAAN
Ihanda ang mga sangkap | panukat ng mga sangkap ‘measuring spoons’ | kutsilyo | sangkalan | kawali | pangdikdik o ‘mortar and pestle’ | sipit na pangluto (tongs) | supot na ziplock (ziplock bag) | kitchen tissue | plato
1. Kung bibili ng pusit mula sa palengke, ipalinis ang mga pusit at ipatanggal ang tuka na parang plastic na nasa loob nito.
2. Hiwain ang pusit nang pabilog na sukat nasa 1cm-1.5cm, o hiwain sa hugis na tatsulok.
3. Tustahin ang paminta sa tuyong kawali sa ibabaw ng malakas na apoy nang mga 1-2 minuto.
4. Durugin ang tinustang paminta gamit ang mortar and pestle, pangdikdik o kahit anong pwedeng pangdurog. Hindi kinakailangang maging parang pulbos ang pagkakadikdik. Sapat na ang madurog ang malalaking piraso. Ihalo ang Maldon salt flakes dito at haluin nang mabuti.
5. Painitin ang kawali na may mantika sa kalan. Dapat ay mangalahati sa kawali ang dami ng mantika, kung kaya’t dagdagan o bawasan ang dami ng mantika kung kinakailangan.
6. Pagsamasamahin ang harina, gawgaw, dinurog na paminta at Maldon salt flakes sa supot na ziplock. Alugin ang mga laman upang mahalo mabuti.
7. Isama sa supot ang hiniwang mga pusit. Alugin muli ang mga laman upang mahalo nang mabuti.
8. Para malaman kung mainit na ang mantika at maaari nang gamitin sa pagpiprito, maglagay ng maliit na piraso ng tinapay sa kawaling pinapainit. Kapag lumutang ito matapos ang 20 segundo at maging kulay brown, hudyat ito na maaari nang pagprituhan ang mantika.
9. Lumayo sa kawali dahil maaaring tumalsik ang mantika habang nagpiprito. Ipagpag ang mga pusit bago ilagay sa kawali upang matanggal ang sobrang tinimplang harina na nakakapit dito.
10. Matapos ang 2 minuto o hanggang maging tustado nang katamtaman ang harinang nakabalot sa mga pusit, baliktarin ang mga ito upang maluto ang kabilang bahagi. Iprito muli nang mga 1 minuto.
11. Gamit ang sipit, ipatong ang mga nilutong pusit sa plato na may kitchen tissue upang masipsip ang mantika. Ilipat sa malaking plato na malinis at ihain agad.
Preparation time: 10 minutes | Paghahanda: 10 minuto
Cooking time: 10 minutes | Pagluluto: 10 minuto
+ Serve with: lemon wedges and mayonnaise for dipping or the Summer Roll Dipping Sauce (page 118)
+ Ihain ng may: lemon na hiniwa ng pahahaba at mayonnaise pang sawsawan o binalot na sugpo & bihon na sawsawan (pahina 120)
