Thai Squid Salad

A quick, spicy squid salad with a citrus bite.

Step 1: Clean and chop squid

Pull the head/tentacles away from the body. Scoop any remaining guts out of the body, and remove the thin plasticy quill. Rinse the body inside and out, then slice into approximately 3/4-1 inch thick rings.

Squeeze behind the head to extrude the beak, and remove it from the center of the tentacles. Cut just below the eyes to free the tentacles, then add them to the bowl with the body rings.

Tentacles are the best part. No, really- they're fantastic.

Step 2: Boil squid

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add a bit of salt and a bit (1-2 Tablespoons) of wine or citrus juice.

Drop the squid into the water in batches, removing it just as it turns opaque. This should take less than a minute, so be ready with a slotted spoon.

Deposit the cooked squid on a paper towel to cool and dry.

Step 3: Make sauce

Combine:
juice of 2 limes
~1 Tablespoon hot chili/garlic sauce (sriracha)
~1 teaspoon sesame oil
~1/2 teaspoon fish sauce (or to taste)
~1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 kaffir lime leaf, finely minced (zest from those limes makes a fine substitute)
3 finely minced shallots
2 Tablespoons brown or palm sugar (honey or agave nectar are good substitutes)
handful fresh mint, finely minced
handful fresh cilantro, finely minced
salt and pepper to taste

Stir it up and taste. It should be aromatic, spicy, and acidic with a touch of sweet. Adjust the seasonings as necessary to make the sauce taste good to you.

Note that I resisted the temptation to add a grated garlic clove to the mix- there's already garlic in the sriracha, and I didn't want to overpower the squid.

Step 4: Add squid and marinate

Add squid and give it a stir. Let it sit in the marinade for a bit, preferably in the refrigerator for about half an hour. More marination certainly won't hurt; you can leave it overnight if you like.

Step 5: Serve

Serve cold. The longer the squid marinates the better the flavors will penetrate. This will keep for a day or two, but like any seafood it shouldn't be left to moulder in the refrigerator. We've never had any problems of this type, as this salad disappears quickly.

Garnish with any of the herbs used in the salad and serve on funny-looking plates. For best results, make sure all the tentacles are showing.

Comments

[ajatingja]

น่าทานมากค่ะ :)

[HamO]

Enough.... I can't stand it. Must find fish monger with squid!! Excellent!!!

[Anba]

What in the world does squid taste like? Is there anything to compare it to. All i can think is that it must be very rubbery.

[red-king]

it's like eating rubber bands... lol unless you put some sort of sauce on it it is anyway.

[rexdino5]

Well, you can dry the squid and chew on it. It tastes awsoeme with this sause... but i forgot the name but it's usually a black brownish sause that comes in a squeeze bottle.

[canida]

It's only rubbery when overcooked, and like most seafood has a rather narrow band to achieve "perfectly cooked" status. The flavor and texture is similar to shrimp.

[mammasheen]

The texture of squid is totally different to shrimp. It is essentially a muscle so its texture is turgid but should not be rubbery. If you have ever eaten conch or any other kind of molusc it has a similar texture t o that. Its flavour is not very strong and is only slightly fishy like a shrimp but the flavour is different.

[gohiyudi]

(removed by author or community request)

[canida]

Kaffir lime leaves store well frozen, and are a great way to add lime flavor to anything without the bitterness that can come from zest. Think homemade mayo/aioli, ice cream, etc. If you wanted to get creative or fancy, you could try them in mashed potatoes, fish, most anything that might taste good with lime. Get a Thai cookbook and go to town. Palm sugar just has a slightly different flavor - I can get it, but don't bother since (to my palate) it's not so different from brown sugar when used in small quantity.

[Goodhart]

This does indeed look very good. My biggest trouble is: I hate to cook ONLY for myself, and my wife is VERY squeamish about new things (no matter how good they taste).

[jessyratfink]

To be honest, squid scares me. I've only had it fried once, and that was years ago. But I think when I get up the nerve I'll use one of your recipes. :D

[Goodhart]

Fried, normally means overcooked, with the consistency of tire rubber....cooked properly, it is a whole different dish, really .

[unbentcrayfish]

nice, i love it...

[NE-Phil]

Update: Tried your recipe last night and it's marinating in the fridge today. Nice flavor. Instructions excellent. One thing though. How much squid will work with the amount of marinade shown in your post? I used about 1 pound. Is that about right?

[canida]

I got 4 lbs of squid and split them unevenly across the three recipes you see here, so that's probably about right.

[NE-Phil]

Hmmm...All I can get is frozen squid but it will have to do for this recipe. Looks great and I can't wait to try it!

[trebuchet03]

Oh how long it has been since I've had fresh non fried squid :P Looks absolutely delicious.... I might have to borrow that sauce recipe for other dishes, it sounds great :)