Christmas recipes: How to make crispy calamari with a hot and sweet dipping sauce
No one will be expecting calamari on Christmas day, but why not?
Instead of the usual garlic mayonnaise this dish of crispy fried calamari is accompanied by a lighter dipping sauce with a mix of salty, hot, sweet and sour flavours.
“On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me five golden rings…”
Ingredients (serves 3-4):
For the calamari
700g squid tubes
1 heaped teaspoon Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese 7-spice)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
200g flour
200ml buttermilk
Vegetable oil for frying
For the hot and sweet dipping sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ red chilli, chopped
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Splash fish sauce
1 teaspoon Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese 7-spice)
Method:
To make the dipping sauce
Combine all the dip ingredients in a bowl, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, leave to one side until needed.
To make the calamari
Clean the squid tubes thoroughly and slice into 1cm rings. Place the rings onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. In a pestle and mortar finely grind the shichimi togarashi, salt and pepper together then mix into the flour. Divide the flour mixture between two wide bowls and pour the buttermilk into another wide bowl.
Dredge each piece of calamari in the first bowl of flour, shaking off the excess, then into the buttermilk, then into the second bowl of flour. Repeat this process with all the calamari.
Pour enough oil into a medium sized frying pan to deep fry the calamari. Heat the oil until it begins to bubble. To test if the oil is hot enough dip one of the calamari rings in and if it sizzles the oil is ready.
Fry the calamari in small batches until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the calamari to a plate lined with kitchen paper to soak up an excess oil. Sprinkle generously with salt.
Serve hot with the dipping sauce on the side.
Find more of Beverley's recipes here. Follow her on Instagram @thelittlechelseakitchen for more inspiration.
