Name: Salt and Pepper Squid
Yield: Serves 2 to 4
Ingredients: 500 g baby squid, cleaned and quills removed (get your fishmonger to do this for you); 200 g cornstarch, seasoned with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper; 3 garlic cloves; 1 fresh red chile (or 1 bird’s-eye chile if you like it hot); 2 spring onions, finely sliced; Vegetable oil, for frying; ¼ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper

Deepfried squid with green and red chilies.

Photo by Martin Poole

I’ve been trying, testing, and tweaking this salt and pepper squid recipe since my university days—endless hours of deep-frying bits of squid of all shapes and sizes in different batters. I’ve tried making it with egg, without egg, with different flours, in different oils, yet I ALWAYS come back to the simplest option: no egg, just plenty of seasoned cornstarch or potato starch and a clean vat of high-heating oil. The oil must be nice and clean to ensure you get a good golden brown finish, which is especially important for something as waxy and delicate as squid.

Cook's note:

Make sure you add the squid to the wok immediately as the chiles will kick up a lot of smoke in the pan if you hang around!

Recipe notes

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