The market · Fish and seafood · Southern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia
Squid
Sweet and tender if cooked for a minute or two, or for an hour — anything in between and it's rubbery.
sweet · briny
What to do with it
Classics built on it
FujianShacha noodlesYellow noodles in a rich, orange, peanutty broth of shacha sauce, topped with your choice of seafood, offal and tofu.No one here has made it yetAnhuiLi Hongzhang hotchpotchA banquet mix of sea cucumber, fish maw, squid, ham, chicken, tofu and mushroom, simmered together in a good stock.No one here has made it yetValencianFideuàShort, thin noodles cooked like a paella in a wide pan, in a strong fish stock with prawns and squid, until they curl up and crisp on top.No one here has made it yetValencianArròs negreRice cooked in a wide pan with cuttlefish or squid and their ink, which turns it glossy black — served with allioli.No one here has made it yetAndalusianPescaíto fritoSmall fish, squid and pieces of dogfish tossed in flour and fried fast in hot olive oil, eaten crisp with salt and lemon.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridBocadillo de calamaresRings of squid, floured and fried, packed into a crusty white roll — Madrid's cheap, much-loved sandwich.No one here has made it yet Kinds
- Whole
- Clean it yourself; firmer and sweeter.
- Baby (chipirones)
- Fried whole in Spain.
- Cleaned tubes
- Often frozen at sea, and often good.
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Fishmongers and Asian grocers.
- Worth knowing
- Score the inside of the tubes in a crosshatch and cook very hot and very fast.