Alright, this ain't your typical salt and pepper squid. The squid (or calamari) in this recipe is tender soft, covered in a crispy coating and infused with the ever so aromatic fried garlic and basil. Plus a sprinkle of red chilli for a nice bit of heat. It's so good that you won't be able to stop yourself from demolishing the entire plate! Fantastic appetiser or side to any meal!
Complete your meal by pairing this with my refreshing, healthy and mega flavourful pork San Choy Bow (lettuce wraps)!
Taiwanese fried chicken flavour profile
When you walk through the night markets of Taiwan, one distinct aromatic you'll definitely smell is the fragrant basil coming from their famous Taiwanese fried chicken stalls. The chicken is always perfectly crispy, juicy and smells outrageously delicious! Just talking about it makes 1. my mouth water and 2. want to go back and head straight to the night markets!
The secret ingredient to Taiwan's world-famous fried chicken is tossing a handful of fresh basil leaves in just before the chicken is taken out of the fryer. It completely elevates the fried chicken to a whole new level. Honestly a game changer!
Inspired by this ingenious technique, I've adopted it in this humble salt and pepper squid recipe. You're going to love it!
I guess you can call this 'Taiwanese salt and pepper squid' or 'Chinese salt and pepper squid'. Whatever you want to call it, it's delicious.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Basil fresh basil is a must!
- Cleaned squid (aka calamari) my local supermarkets don't always have fresh squid available. I simply buy the frozen squid tubes and conveniently, they come cleaned. If you're lucky enough to have a go-to fishmonger, get the fresh ones! Some will be happy to clean it for you, otherwise, find instructions below on how to clean whole squids at home.
- Frying oil go for neutral-tasting vegetable oil such as canola or sunflower oils that have a high smoke point.
- White pepper has a more earthy taste compare to black peppers. Feel free to use black pepper if preferred. However, white pepper is more authentic to Chinese cooking!
- Shaoxing wine adds fantastic flavour and is widely used in Chinese dishes. Substitute: dry sherry.
- Cornstarch (aka cornflour) helps make the coating more crispy and light.
Step by step instructions
First step, marinate the squid for 15 minutes with shaoxing wine, salt and white pepper.
The key to tender, soft almost melt-in-your mouth squid is by marinating. Just 15 minutes makes a massive difference! Not only does it improve the texture, the shaoxing wine helps take out the 'fishy' smell. Particularly if you use frozen thawed squid. Fresh squid should smell of the ocean and not so much 'fishy'.
Before marinating, score the squid. This will help flavours to easily penetrate into the squid, plus, the criss-cross patterns looks really impressive! To learn how to score squids, head over to my Squid Stir Fry with Celery with step by step instructions.
Whilst the squid is marinating, combine and mix flour, cornstarch, salt and white pepper. Once 15 minutes are up, coat the squid pieces in the flour mixture.
Now, heat oil until the oil reaches approximately 180°/350°F. Just before frying, make sure to shake of any excess flour mixture.
Deep fry on high heat for about 2 minutes, flipping every minute then add the garlic slices, basil leaves and fresh chilli.
Fry for another minute until aromatic, crispy and squid lightly golden brown. Carefully scoop out with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper towels.
Depending on the size of your fryer, you may wish to fry in two batches.
That's it! This recipe does not take long at long. The frying process is quick so make sure to keep both eyes on the squid!
Serving suggestion
Just by looking at this picture I can smell the basil and the subtle hints of garlic! Make sure to finish the dish up with some extra white pepper for good measure. 🙂
Don't be too eager to smell the squid right after dusting some extra white pepper. I always do and you know what happens? You sneeze like you've got hay fever for that split few seconds.
This dish does not need to be served with lemon wedges however you can if that's what you prefer!
Cleaning squid at home
If you got your hands on fresh squid (booyah!!!), simply follow the below steps around how to easily clean it at home:
- One hand on the squid head and the other on the tube, gently pull the head (with tentacles) off the squid.
- Cut the tentacles off the head, discard the head.
- Pull out and discard all the stuff inside the squid tube. Including the backbone, it looks like a long, see-through piece of plastic.
- Wahs the tube and tentacles, pat dry with kitchen paper.
- Now you're ready to rock and roll!
Tips for making this perfect every time
- Have the oil nice and hot before adding coated squid in. The ideal temperature for deep frying anything is 180°C/350°F. If you don't have a thermometer, don't fret! There are 2 easy ways to test if the oil is hot enough:
- Method A: Get a little, pea-sized piece of bread and add it to the oil. If it sizzles and moves around then the oil is hot enough.
- Method B (the experienced Asian home cook style): Get a chopstick, put the tip (about 1cm/half an inch) of the chopstick into the oil and if it sizzles then the oil is good to go.
- Keep the temperature on high the whole time. Don't be afraid that the squid will burn as soon as the coating hardens/starts to crisp up. It won't. Plus, you need the temperature to be high when you add the basil, garlic and chilli in.
- Whilst the squid is marinating, cover and put it in the fridge. Health and safety reasons.
- Pat dry basil, garlic and chilli with paper towels. Like, as dry as possible. It's incredibly dangerous to add anything dripping with water into hot oil.
- Step away from the fryer as soon as you add fresh basil, garlic and chilli in the oil with the rest of the squid. No matter how dry you pat these ingredients with the kitchen paper, the OIL WILL SPIT. For the first 5 seconds only though. So as soon as you add them in, quickly, take 2 or 3 steps back, away from the stove. Once the oil stops spitting you're safe to move closer. It sounds a bit intense but it's totally worth it.
- Add the coated squid into the hot oil one at a time. This will prevent them from sticking to each other.
Good to know (FAQs)
For this recipe, I think it's perfect just as is! It's full of flavour, aromatic and crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. When eating, make sure to eat the squid with a little crispy basil leaf, a piece of garlic chip and some chilli. It's the best! Honestly, no need for any dipping sauces. But if you must, I recommend a little (or a lot, no one's judging, live your best life) aioli.
Can't beat an Asian themed dinner if you're making this recipe! Aside from pairing with the healthy and flavourful San Choy Bow (lettuce wraps), try the quick and easy Chicken Noodle Stir Fry or the moreish Chinese Eggplant with Minced Pork plus some white rice.
By marinating! Just 15 minutes makes a noticeable difference. For this recipe, the squid is marinated with rice wine, salt and white pepper.
Although extremely popular in Australia, salt and pepper squid is actually a Cantonese dish! For this particular recipe, with a Taiwanese twist!
Leftovers
Like any seafood, I recommend consuming it on the day it's cooked. They taste best that way. So cook only as much as you and your family can consume on the day. This is definitely not a meal prep recipe!
Nonetheless, they do keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Remember to store them in airtight containers.
More seafood recipes to make
Made this recipe? Let me know your thoughts or questions by dropping a note in the comments section below! I'd love to hear from you 🙂
Happy cooking and eating! - Gen
📖 Recipe
Salt and Pepper Squid
Ingredients
Squid Marinade
- 2 large squid (or calamari) about 450g/1lbs, cleaned (note 1)
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Crispy coating flour mixture
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
Deep frying
- 1 litre deep frying vegetable oil sunflower or canola (note 2)
- 3 cloves garlic thinly slice, pat dry with kitchen paper
- 1 fresh chilli deseed, thinly slice. Pat dry with kitchen paper
- handful fresh basil leaves Pat dry with kitchen paper
Instructions
- First, score the squid with criss-cross patterns and then cut into bite-size pieces. (note 3)
- Combine squid with marinating ingredients, mix well then cover. Marinate for 15 minutes in the fridge.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oil in a deep pot suitable for frying on high heat.
- Whilst the oil is heating up, combine the ingredients for the crispy coating, mix well with a fork. Coat each piece of squid well.
If doubling or tripling the portions, fry in 2 and 3 batches respectively.
- Once the oil has reached the ideal frying temperature (180°C/350°F), add coated squid in the hot oil one at a time. Make sure to lightly dust the coated squid before adding it in. (note 4)
- Once all of the pieces are in the hot oil, fry on high heat for about 2 minutes, flipping after 1 minute.
- Now gently, but quickly, add the basil, garlic and chilli into the oil with the squid still inside. IMPORTANT: make sure to add them in all at once then quickly take 3 big steps back, away from the stove. The oil will spit for the first 5 seconds. Once the spitting stops, it'll be safe to move closer to the stove. (note 5)
- Fry for 1 further minute then remove the now super crispy squid, basil, garlic crisps and chill onto a serving dish lined with kitchen paper. Best use a pair of tongs or a slotted metal spoon.
- Serve immediately with some extra white pepper.
Notes
- One hand on the squid head and the other on the tube, gently pull the head (with tentacles) off the squid.
- Cut the tentacles off the head, discard the head.
- Pull out and discard all the stuff inside the squid tube. Including the backbone, it looks like a long, see-through piece of plastic.
- Wash the tube and tentacles, pat dry with kitchen paper.
- Now you're ready to rock and roll!
- Cut the squid tube down in the centre so it opens up flat.
- With a sharp knife, score the insides of the squid with shallow, diagonal lines with about half a cm (¼ inch) in between the lines.
- When making these incisions, hold the knife at an angle with the blade slanted towards your other hand. This takes the pressure off the cutting edge so you don't slice all the way through.
- Method A: Get a little, pea-sized piece of bread and add it to the oil. If it sizzles and moves around then the oil is hot enough.
- Method B (the experienced Asian home cook style): Get a wooden chopstick, put the tip (about 1cm/half an inch) of the chopstick into the oil and if it sizzles then the oil is good to go.
LINDA
Thank you so much Appreciated, Can't wait to cook the salt and pepper Squid. Kind Regards.
Genevieve
My absolute pleasure! Hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do 🙂