Why not bring it here in Philippines? The most popular Crispy Giant Squid at Ningxia Night Market, Taiwan. Its so crispy in the outside and juicy inside. Tourists love it very much and it is one of “Taiwan’s Top Ten Most Popular Night Market Food”.
But how do you cook this large squid? After cleaning and removing all the inside, you need to completely remove the inedible mucus on the squid or the double layer of protection. Leaving the squid meat all white without the covering.
The marinade, dipping powder, and fried powder used by players in Taiwan food industry to fry squid all have their own unique recipe. But here’s a tip, the core raw material no longer uses traditional sweet potato starch, but uses rice flour which makes it really crispy, with better taste and higher nutritional value. So this is just the basic recipe, it’s up to you on how you can level up this delicious street food! So if you can’t find a large squid, cook the one that large enough or whatever is available! This recipe is great for restaurants and businesses.
Giant Fried Squid Recipe (Popular in Taiwan Night Market)
Wash the squid. Cut off the belly of the cartilaginous side of the squid, remove the internal organs and cartilage, while the head is separated from the body, and then thoroughly washed. Cut the area below the eyes of the squid, rinse off the flowing ink with running water, and wash it completely.
Remove the inedible mucus on the squid and also the double layer of protection. So it turns purely white without the cover on the flesh. Pat dry and remove excess water.
Spread out the squid on the side, slice the both side to form like butterfly wings. But leave out the center column for 1-2 skewers to fit (this is to avoid the squid from curling when you fry it)
Take 2 skewers/bamboo sticks and string the squid body and head.
Prepare 3 large wide pans that will fit the entire spread of squid.
First Pan is for marination. Season squid with appropriate amounts of salt, white pepper, cooking wine, chili, cumin, sesame and marinate for more than 15 minutes.
Second pan: sieve the rice flour and cornstarch together to combine well. Dust the squid with rice flour-cornstarch powder and press firmly. Shake off the excess flour. Dusting the squid well so the batter will stick to the squid.
Third Pan: Make the batter or paste, add fried flour and mix water according to the ratio (fried flour and water = 1:1.5). Mix it well until becomes thick batter.
Dip the squid in the batter until completely covered.
Prepare the deep frying pan, the amount of oil should be enough to cover the whole string of squid, the oil temperature rises to 180~200°C, and then deep-fry the squid in the pan over medium-low heat for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until both sides change color and float to the oil surface, then remove and drain the excess oil. Do not over cook the squid, as soon as it floats, turn golden brown. It will cook quickly.
Once done, drain it well from oil. Serve hot and crispy.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes:
In Taiwan, they display it like in the photo, but upon serving they chop it and serve with different toppings or sauce.
There are six flavors of squid: cumin, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, honey mustard, seaweed, and spicy.
The most suitable squid is about 25-30 cm in length and 220~250 grams in weight.
The surface of fresh squid is crystal clear, shiny and elastic, and has no fishy smell. The squid used as fried food, if it is too small and not thick enough, the fried meat will not be soft, and if it is too big, the fried meat will not be soft, and if it is too big, the meat will look too old.
How to Know if the right oil temperature is reached? Put one chopped green onion in the oil , if there are many oil bubbles immediately, it means that the high temperature is about 180°C. Before cooking, turn to high heat and fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Season it with Shichimi or any spicy fresh ingredients, upon serving.
