I am fortunate to live near the Sydney fish markets. I try to time my shopping to avoid the weekend rush and the madness of the carpark. But in the middle of Chinese New Year any time would be frantic so I headed to the new Sydney Fresh Seafood at Drummoyne. They have a good selection and when they offered, yes they offered, to clean the squid I purchased my heart skipped a beat. That’s how to win a customer.
So back home it took minimal time to prepare this Thai-influenced salad for a humid summer’s day lunch. Barbecued squid, lots of fresh herbs, lime, chilli and a new fishmonger. Life can be perfect sometimes.
Caren
SPICY SQUID SALAD
1.4 kg squid, yielding about 800gm cleaned squid
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 red chillies, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Dressing
140 ml lime juice, + zest from 2 of the limes
2 tablespoons fish sauce
30 ml water
30 gm palm sugar
1 kaffir lime, zest only
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely julienned
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 red chillies, minced
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
Salad
1 Chinese cabbage
1 cup mint leaves
1 cup coriander leaves
5 mini cucumbers, finely sliced
5 green shallots, finely sliced
100 gm raw peanuts
Sea salt
Cut open the squid so that each squid tube becomes a flat piece. Score the flesh so the squid will cook evenly. Then cut each squid into 4 pieces. Cut each tentacle section into 2 pieces. Mix in the other ingredients and marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a glass jar, making sure the sugar has dissolved. Shake well.
Remove the outer leaves, thick core and base of the cabbage. Finely shred the cabbage and put into a large bowl. (It looks like a lot of cabbage but it reduces in volume once the dressing is added.) Add all the other salad ingredients except the peanuts.
Fry the peanuts in a pan until coloured, being careful not to scorch them too much. Roughly chop them when cool enough to handle. Barbecue the squid on the hot plate for 2 minutes but don’t crowd the plate or the squid will steam rather than be seared. Toss the dressing through the cabbage salad. Add salt to season if required. Transfer onto a platter or individual plates and place the squid and peanuts on the top.
You an adjust the heat and sourness of the dish according to your taste by adding more or less chillies, lime juice and black pepper. You can substitute prawns for the squid or, for a more substantial dish, you can add rice vermicelli noodles.
And if you’re concerned about a peanut allergy you can use blanched almonds instead of peanuts.