garlic butter squid
like calamari but better
welcome to episode 11 of my Seafood Counter series! today’s fish: squid! I know that preparing squid may sounds daunting – its usually something I only have in restaurants. but, I promise it is not difficult or scary at all.
my all-time favorite way to eat squid will always be fried calamari. however, I didn’t want to give you all a recipe that involves deep frying, since I know that a lot of people simply won’t make it if it needs to be fried.
so, we’re simply sautéing the squid! if you buy the squid already cleaned and prepared, than this is as easy as sautéing shrimp.
where/how to buy squid:
I got mine from the Italian specialty foods store, Eataly, and they came already cleaned. I have seen them also at Wegmans, Key Foods, and more. So, if you have a grocery store with a good seafood counter, try there. If not, try a fish market.
It will often be labeled as “tubes and tentacles” or “rings and tentacles.” This means they have already cleaned and prepared the squid for you. If you go to a fish market, this may not be the default, but just ask for them to clean it and separate the tubes from the tentacles. This way, you won’t have to deal with any squid ink or anything like that.
the full recipe:
serves 2-4
Ingredients
1-2 tbsp neutral oil, such as avocado or canola
1 pound squid, cleaned and tubes sliced into rings
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
Chopped parsley, for garnish
for the sauce:
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
4 tbsp butter
Tools
Large pan
Mixing bowls
Fine-mesh strainer
Steps
In a large mixing bowl, fill it with cool water and about 1 tbsp kosher salt. Add the squid pieces to the bowl and gently stir with your hands. Strain the water out and discard any sand or debris. **optional step**
Add the squid rings and tentacles to a large mixing bowl. To the squid, add 1 tbsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Use clean hands to mix this until fully combined.
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tbsp neutral oil and allow that to heat up until it ripples. Carefully add the marinated squid to the pan and immediately toss/stir.
Continue cooking until squid is cooked about 80-90% of the way cooked through. Turn off the heat and then add the squid to a bowl, straining out any excess liquid.
To the same large pan, melt 4 tbsp butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, add 4-6 cloves minced garlic. Sweat the garlic in the butter until until soft and fragrant, but not browned.
To the garlic butter, add 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp mirin. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. It should slightly thicken while simmering.
Add the sauteed squid back to the pan and toss to fully coat in the sauce. Continue tossing until the sauce is thick and the squid is fully cooked. Mix in a pinch of chopped parsley, leaving some for garnish.
Serve the garlic butter squid hot and garnish with remaining parsley, or herbs of choice.
The first time I made this, I did not strain the squid after the initial cook. This resulted in too much liquid for the sauce to thicken, which caused the squid to become chewy as it needed to simmer longer. Straining the liquid from the squid will help.
I used salted butter for this recipe, but there are many salty ingredients, so use your discretion and taste along the way.
mirin: If you cant find mirin, add some rice wine or even a splash of water with a generous pinch of sugar or honey. mirin is essentially rice wine + sugar, and the sugar helps to thicken the sauce.
parsley: your herb of choice is fine. I think chives or scallions would be fantastic here.
soy sauce: tamari can be used as a gluten-free option.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you try it, please comment below or tag me on social media!