The Sinosphere · Volume 32, The Stocking, the Shelter and the Spice Route
Salt and Pepper Squid (椒鹽鮮魷)
Hong Kong
An illustration of the dish, not a photograph of it cooked.
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Reviewed
- Not yet reviewed from inside the tradition
- Cooked
- Not yet cooked and reported
Dai pai dong, licensed under a name that comes from a sheet of paper. High-heat wok work over a battered-and-fried shortcut.
As tradition built it
Serves 4. About 30 minutes, plus marinating.
Ingredients
- 500 g squid, cleaned and scored
- to taste salt, ground white pepper, 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine, for marinating
- 3 tablespoons cornflour
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper, for the coating
- for deep frying neutral oil, for deep-frying
- 2 tablespoons, 1, 2, 2 garlic, shallot, spring onion, fresh chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon five-spice salt (椒鹽粉), to finish
Method
- Marinate the squid in salt, white pepper and Shaoxing wine for about 20 minutes.
- Briefly blanch the squid until it just curls, then remove immediately to avoid toughness.
- Dust the squid in the cornflour mixed with white pepper.
- Deep-fry in the neutral oil at around 180°C until golden, then drain.
- In a very hot wok, toss the fried squid briefly with garlic, shallot, spring onion and chilli, finishing with a sprinkle of five-spice salt.
What a modern chef changes
A proper double fry and freshly ground seasoning.
Rung 3
Method
- Rest the marinated, cornflour-dusted squid chilled for 15 minutes before frying, letting any developed surface starch relax for a crisper result.
- Double-fry: a first pass at roughly 160 to 170°C to cook through, then a hotter second pass at 190°C or above, briefly, to crisp and colour, rather than relying on one fry.
- Toast and freshly grind the Sichuan peppercorn and white pepper for the five-spice salt in a dedicated spice grinder immediately before use, for dramatically more aromatic punch than a pre-ground mix.