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Thing Forty-Seven: Squeeeeeeeeed.
Mar. 31st, 2014 02:24 pmI'm in the middle of reading an issue of Saveur devoted to seafood. Last night, this made me decide to cook seafood for dinner. I settled on squid because it's cheap and easy, and it has a nice texture--when you don't overcook it. Cook squid too long, and it turns into a rubber band. Get it just right, and it has a nice tooth to it, but isn't hard to chew at all.
I chose a stir fry because I was craving Asian-style flavors, and those always go well with squid. I also wanted vegetables to be part of the main dish, and stir fries are great for combining veggies with animal protein. I started out with the first step of almost all my stir fries: aromatics. I used minced garlic, minced fresh ginger, and scallions cut into one-inch pieces. When they started releasing their delicious smells in the hot oil, I added in broccoli that I'd cut into florets, and some cut frozen green beans that I'd happened to have on hand. I added a splash of water at this point, because I wanted to get the broccoli nice and tender-crisp before blasting it with high heat to get the Maillard reaction going to create some flavor. After it had cooked for a bit, I also added some mushrooms (a variety of types, most of which came from a gourmet mix I got at Whole Foods, and some of which I rehydrated from a package of dried oyster mushrooms). Once the broccoli got to the tender point, I turned up the heat and added the squid.
Some people aren't fond of squid tentacles, but I love 'em, and the guy at the fish counter at my grocery store seems to remember that about me. He offered to bring out some tentacles that weren't in the display case, so I could have some. I sliced up the bodies, and tossed them and the whole tentacle-portions into the wok. I also started adding sauce ingredients right away, since the squid cooks so quickly. I used black bean sauce (a really thick version of that funky fermented paste), mirin (Japanese rice wine, which I wanted for the sweetness), and Sriracha sauce. Then more Sriracha sauce. And a bit more. OK, a little more. Hey, I was craving SPICY, OK? All that blended with the liquid released by the squid to form a spicy, umami-rich sauce for the dish.
When the squid was opaque, the tentacles were curled up, and the sauce was bubbling and thick, I turned off the heat. I drizzled in some dark sesame oil, and mixed that in to add depth. The dish turned out perfectly. I had realized I was kind of craving white rice, which I rarely eat, and decided to use up the last of my sushi rice. I didn't actually make it sushi-style, with vinegar, but I made it nice and sticky and fluffy and good. I left the rice itself plain in cooking, but topped it with Japanese furikake sprinkles (these ones were dried fish eggs, nori strips, and sesame seeds).
Everything was great, and I have leftovers for dinner tonight. I'm so glad my grocery store carries squid on a pretty regular basis! I think there are a lot of people out there who have only tried it in the form of fried calamari rings, and who don't know what a versatile, delicious, and EASY protein it can be. So get out there, people, and buy some squeeeeeed.
I chose a stir fry because I was craving Asian-style flavors, and those always go well with squid. I also wanted vegetables to be part of the main dish, and stir fries are great for combining veggies with animal protein. I started out with the first step of almost all my stir fries: aromatics. I used minced garlic, minced fresh ginger, and scallions cut into one-inch pieces. When they started releasing their delicious smells in the hot oil, I added in broccoli that I'd cut into florets, and some cut frozen green beans that I'd happened to have on hand. I added a splash of water at this point, because I wanted to get the broccoli nice and tender-crisp before blasting it with high heat to get the Maillard reaction going to create some flavor. After it had cooked for a bit, I also added some mushrooms (a variety of types, most of which came from a gourmet mix I got at Whole Foods, and some of which I rehydrated from a package of dried oyster mushrooms). Once the broccoli got to the tender point, I turned up the heat and added the squid.
Some people aren't fond of squid tentacles, but I love 'em, and the guy at the fish counter at my grocery store seems to remember that about me. He offered to bring out some tentacles that weren't in the display case, so I could have some. I sliced up the bodies, and tossed them and the whole tentacle-portions into the wok. I also started adding sauce ingredients right away, since the squid cooks so quickly. I used black bean sauce (a really thick version of that funky fermented paste), mirin (Japanese rice wine, which I wanted for the sweetness), and Sriracha sauce. Then more Sriracha sauce. And a bit more. OK, a little more. Hey, I was craving SPICY, OK? All that blended with the liquid released by the squid to form a spicy, umami-rich sauce for the dish.
When the squid was opaque, the tentacles were curled up, and the sauce was bubbling and thick, I turned off the heat. I drizzled in some dark sesame oil, and mixed that in to add depth. The dish turned out perfectly. I had realized I was kind of craving white rice, which I rarely eat, and decided to use up the last of my sushi rice. I didn't actually make it sushi-style, with vinegar, but I made it nice and sticky and fluffy and good. I left the rice itself plain in cooking, but topped it with Japanese furikake sprinkles (these ones were dried fish eggs, nori strips, and sesame seeds).
Everything was great, and I have leftovers for dinner tonight. I'm so glad my grocery store carries squid on a pretty regular basis! I think there are a lot of people out there who have only tried it in the form of fried calamari rings, and who don't know what a versatile, delicious, and EASY protein it can be. So get out there, people, and buy some squeeeeeed.
