Donate

Menu

Crispy squid salad by Michael Demagistris

Time: 1 hour prep + 20 minutes cooking Serves: 2

Jump to recipe

Gould’s squid and Southern calamari are different species, but both grow quickly, have a short life span of around 12 months and are both fairly resilient to fishing. While trawl caught squid and calamari can often be bycatch of more damaging fishing practices, jigging for these species is low impact and highly targeted. This means that these Aussie staples that are fairly interchangeable in a number of recipes can be enjoyed in abundance whether you like it fried, grilled, or marinated. 

IMAGE: Crispy squid salad
See squid in GoodFish: Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide

Crispy Squid Salad

By Michael Demagistris

Ingredients

  • 1 whole squid (or Southern calamari)

    Salad
  • 50g toasted slithered almonds
  • 1⁄2 green wombok (washed & finely sliced)
  • 1⁄2 purple wombok (washed & finely sliced)
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber (peeled, shaved into ribbons using a peeler) 1 baby fennel (finely sliced)
  • 1 carrot (peeled, shaved into ribbons using a peeler)
  • 1 pot micro mint
  • 1 pot micro lemon balm
  • 1 pot micro coriander
  • 2lt peanut oil (or veg oil for frying)

    Marinade for squid
  • 1⁄2 cup sugar
  • 1 1⁄2 cups light soy sauce
  • 1 1⁄2 cups shoaxing rice wine

    Salad Dressing
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon pink salt, or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil

    Szechuan salt
  • 1 cup salt
  • 2/3 cup szechwan pepper – roasted until fragrant
  • 1/3 cup five spice powder – roasted until fragrant

    Flour mix
  • 1⁄2 cup corn flour
  • 1⁄2 cup potato starch
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp Szechuan salt

    Keto Cracker
  • 1⁄3 cup almond flour
  • 1⁄3 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1⁄3 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1⁄3 cup chia seeds
  • 1⁄3 cup sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp ground psyllium husk powder 1 tsp salt
  • 1⁄4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup water

Method

Marinade

  • Mix all marinade ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved, set aside.

Szechuan Salt

  • Blend all ingredients into a fine powder. Set aside and store for future uses.

Flour mix

  • Mix all ingredients until well combined. Set aside.

Salad dressing

  • In a small bowl add vinegar, pink salt, mustard, then add the oil in a very slow, thin, steady stream, whisking constantly until the dressing is emulsified.
  • The salad dressing can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Cleaning the squid

  • First remove the head from its body, then remove the cartilage from the inside of the squid.
  • Remove the wings. Remove the membrane from the wings and body , this can be easily done either with your hands or by scraping with the back of a knife.
  • Cut the tentacles away from the eyes and beak, wash the squid thoroughly inside of its body until cleaned, do the same with the wings making sure to remove all of the remaining membrane.
  • Cut down the side of the squid body and open it up like a book. Cut down the middle of the flat piece of squid and then gently score it all over.
  • Cut the tentacles, wings and body into bite size pieces. Make sure to remove the small cartilage inside the legs of the squid.
  • Marinate the pieces of squid in the marinade for 30 minutes, after 30 minutes strain and set aside while you prepare the rest of the parts.

Keto cracker

  • Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
  • Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add boiling water and coconut oil, mix together with a wooden fork.
  • Keep working the dough until it forms into a ball and has a gel-like consistency. Place the dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper then add another piece of parchment on top then use a rolling pin to flatten the dough evenly.
  • Using a circular cutter that fits the same diameter of your serving bowl cut out and remove any excess dough. Place your cut dough circles on a lined baking tra.
  • Bake in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Cooking the squid

  • Heat a pot of frying oil to 180 degrees. You can test whether the oil is hot by dropping a tiny piece of squid in and seeing if it fries. If your oil starts to smoke, take it off the heat immediately.
  • Toss the squid in flour mix, remove any excess flour and fry for 30 seconds in the hot oil until golden brown.

Plating

  • Mix your chopped salad ingredients and dress with the salad dressing. Add your fried squid pieces and arrange in your desired serving bowl.
  • Serve your Keto crackers to the side, and enjoy together!