My hubby has these bright ideas to arrive home from work on a Friday with a special little parcel for me. No, it is not flowers or chocolates or any other gifts of affection – its fish.
I seriously don’t have a problem with this – since we love cooking and experimenting with seafood. The only problem that I have with this particular gesture is the fact that the fish (or in this case the squid) arrived – intact – with all its insides, outsides and more. Seriously???
So to him, this seems like the perfect gift to his foodie wife. Yeah Baby, I just love cleaning out fish giblets and organs. So romantic!
Even though it’s a tough job to clean seafood, the results are normally worth the effort and in this case my beautiful little dirty squids became the most delicious Calamari with Ginger Rice.
Not only is squid on WWF-SASSI Green list, which means that it is a sustainable fish choice from the healthiest and best – managed populations out there, it is also incredibly easy to make and such a treat to serve to a bunch of hungry tummies.
I decided to fry my calamari as they were very tiny and I wanted a nice flavorsome batter to be accompanied by lovely ginger basmati rice. You can of course go for the healthier option by grilling the calamari with a little lemon butter in a very hot wok or pan.
My biggest concern when cooking Calamari with Ginger Rice was that the calamari rings would be tough. Although cooking times vary with the thickness of the rings, I would recommend not frying your calamari for more than a minute at a time. Don’t just chuck everything into the oil, use small quantities at a time to ensure it cooks evenly. The oil should be scorching hot – in other words just before smoking. If you have a thermometer the oil would be ready for deep frying when it’s about 180 degrees Celsius.
| Prep Time | 10 min |
| Cook Time | 10 min |
| Servings | people |
- 15 ml olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic crushed
- 1 red onion peeled and finely chopped
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 3 cups cooking oil
- 500 gr squid or calamari cleaned
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornflour
- 2 teaspoons chili flakes
- salt and black pepper to season
- 5 ml lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 lemon to use juice
- chives to garnish
Ingredients
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- First off, in a medium saucepan heat the olive oil and sauté the ginger, garlic and onion until translucent.Add the rice and stir, cover with water and season with salt. Set to boil and then reduce heat, cover and cook until done.
- Heat the pot of vegetable oil until very hot. While the pot of oil heats up, mix the two flours, chili flakes and salt and pepper. Season to your liking.
- Chuck the calamari in the flour and give it a good mix with your hands to cover the squid. Shake off excess.
- Add about half a hand full of calamari to the hot oil at a time, fry for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, remove with slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel.
- If your squid is bigger or thicker it might take a little longer to fry, but it should literally only be in and out of the pot.
- Squeeze cooked calamari with fresh lemon, serve with ginger rice and garnish with chopped chives or parsley.
