This combination of crispy salt & pepper calamari, with a punchy Thai style salad would have to be one of my all time favourites. It’s what I crave after a session in the surf or day out on the boat. It’s fried, salty & rich, yet there’s enough fresh herbs & acidity there to justify calling it ‘healthy’ & not feeling like a blob. The salad is super universal so save it in the recipe bank & pair it with a piece of crispy pork belly at your next dinner party.
RECIPE BY: Sam Goodwin
SERVES: 2
PREPARATION: 20 minutes
COOKING: 5 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 large calamari tube
1 cup milk
½ cup cornflour
½ cup all-purpose flour
Salt flakes
Cracked blacked pepper
Vegetable Oil for frying
1 bunch coriander, leaves picked
1 bunch mint, leaves picked
1 shallot, finely sliced
1 green apple, julienned
TOMATO NAHM JIM DRESSING -
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 coriander roots, washed and coarsely chopped
2 long red chillies, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
6 ripe cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp light palm sugar, finely crushed
60 ml lime juice, or to taste (¼ cup)
2 tbsp fish sauce
TO SERVE;
Fried shallots
Lime wedge
HOW
1. Preheat deep or shallow fryer to 190-200 degrees.
2. To prepare calamari, cut open tube to form flat sheet. Score one side in lattice pattern, then slice into 1cm wide strips. Place calamari strips in bowl of milk whilst preparing other elements. Refer TIPS below for advice on tenderising calamari.
3. Combine flours & salt in medium mixing bowl. Transfer calamari from milk into flour mixture. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes to help the flour mixture stick.
4. Whilst the calamari is sitting prepare the Nahm Jim salad. To make the Nahm Jim Dressing place all ingredients except fish sauce into mortar & pestle, then grind into coarse dressing. Season with fish sauce to taste. Alternatively, this can be done in a food processor if you wish. To prepare salad base, add coriander, mint, shallot, & green apple into large bowl & toss to combine. Dress with Nahm Jim as desired. Set aside.
5. To cook calamari, gentle place into preheated fryer. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until beginning to turn golden brown. Remove from fryer & toss with salt flakes & cracked black pepper.
6. To serve, top Nahm Jim sald with freshly cooked calamari. Garnish with fried shallots, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice if desired.
TIPS
My preferred way to tenderize calamari is to freeze it for a short time prior to starting this recipe. This helps to breakdown the proteins.