Calamari (Squid)

Posted byNoriePosted inAppetizers, Recipe, SeafoodTags:

This recipe is from Jodie, my daughter-in-law who is a chef and served it to my husband and I as an appetizer when we visited her at the restaurant in California where she worked.  It was delicious.

This is very easy to make if you can find squid frozen in boxes at the grocery store. You can get them at some Asian stores but they are not cleaned nor sliced. However, I found that large grocery stores have calamari slices from giant squids in plastic bags in the seafood freezer section.

The easy way:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 ½ tsp. Louisiana seasoning (any brand, e.g., Zatarain, Chacheres, etc.
  • Or just plain salt and pepper

Mix the flour and seasoning in a plastic bag and drop some calamari in it and shake it up. Get a handful of the dredged calamari and shake off excess. They only have to be lightly floured. Drop in the hot oil in a deep skillet. Fry until light brown and drain in paper towels. For some reason, they do not stink when cooked this way.

For dip, make soy sauce, chopped green onions, grated ginger root, vinegar a little patis and a little water mixed all together or you can dream up your own.

Calamari Variation (My Version)

I apologize for the photo because I forgot to take a picture before we started eating them.

These were frozen, pre-sliced giant squids in plastic bags in the seafood freezer section. I hesitated to try them because I thought they would be tough and chewy because the rings looked so big but I was surprised how tender they were after I cooked them. I suppose the secret is soaking them in buttermilk or milk for a few minutes.

Marinate 1 lb. of thawed sliced calamari in:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning mix (it has powdered buttermilk in it)

Let them marinate for about 1 hour in the above mixture then when ready to fry, dredge in:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch or rice flour (to make it a little crisp)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 TBSP Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning mix
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (optional)

Dredge in the above mixture. Shake off excess flour then deep fry in vegetable cooking oil at 350 deg. F for less than 1 minute. Do them in batches. Drain each batch on paper towels or better yet on a wire rack over a tray.

Serve warm with your favorite dip or drizzle with lemon juice and salt.