Saba's delicious black pepper squid canapé, perfect for entertaining.
Ingredients
- 360 g squid, fresh or frozen
- 1 dsp crushed black peppercorns
- 1 dsp soy sauce
- 100 g plain flour
- 0.5 l vegetable oil for deep-frying
- for the sauce:
- 4 dsp light soy sauce
- 1 dsp black soy sauce
- 4 dsp sugar
- 30 ml water
- 30 g ginger finely grated/minced
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 5 ml water
Method
- To make the sauce:
- Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook on a low heat for approximately 3-4 minutes. Blend the cornflour with a little water and add to the sauce to thicken. Cook slowly and stir continuously until the sauce thickens. Remove and allow to cool. Strain the sauce to remove the ginger if preferred.
- To prepare the squid:
- If you are using fresh squid, ask your fishmonger to clean and prepare it for you. If you are doing it yourself, take the frozen or fresh squid, score with criss - cross using a sharp knife and cut it into strips, 2cm x 6cm approximately. Alternatively you can cut it into rings. Mix the black peppercorns and soy sauce in a bowl and cover the squid in the mixture for a few minutes. Remove and dip each piece of squid in the flour and coat all over.
- Using a deep fat fryer or heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the oil until very hot and deep-fry until crispy, about 3 minutes. Be very careful not to overcook the squid or it will be chewy. Remove and allow the squid to drain on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
- To serve:
- Serve with the ginger soy sauce for dipping.
Notes
Saba opens from 12pm until late, seven days a week and is located on 26-28 Clarendon Street, Dublin 2. For bookings Tel: +353-1-6792000 or log onto www.sabadublin.com
