Do you want to learn the best salt and pepper squid with noodle salad recipe from a master chef? Here's how you can use your cast iron wok to create the most fragrant salt and pepper dish. What you need is:
Small capsicum diced or small mildly hot chilli
1 Spanish onion diced
1 clove garlic diced
300g (10oz) of squid
1.5 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
1.5 tablespoons plain flour
5 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons crushed Sichuan pepper
2 slices of dried vermicelli noodles
10 mint leaves diced
200 grams of bean sprout
2 cups of oil
Purchase fresh squid tubes from the local fish market. If you prefer using the whole squid, then you can buy the whole squid and prepare it from scratch. The whole squid is great because you can use both the tubes and tentacles for the salt and pepper squid which adds more texture to your dish.
Boil hot water in a pot and add the vermicelli noodles once the water boils. Cook for 3 minutes or until al-Dante then drain and place under a cold tap. Rest the noodles in a sieve to allow the water to drain.
In a small bowl, add 4 table spoons of fish sauce, 1 table spoon of lemon juice or vinegar, 1 table spoon of sugar and 4 table spoons of hot water. Stir the mixture and taste.
In a large bowl combine the flours and add the squid to coat. Shake off any excess flour.
Heat the oil in your cast iron wok. Wait until the oil is about 150 degrees and then add half your squid. You can cook for about 1 minute or until the squid begins to colour. Then remove the squid and place squid on a sieve to allow the oil to drain away.
In you cast iron wok, place in 2 table spoons of oil, then add garlic, half the onions and half the capsicum and stir slightly. Then add the squid and toss. Sprinkle with salt and the Sichuan pepper and remove from the cast iron wok. Place it on a large plate.
Mix the noodles with the mint, half the capsicum, bean sprouts, Spanish onions and dried onions and the fish sauce.
Add the fish sauce to the noodle salad and serve with the salt and peer squid.
You have now a balanced dish with both delicious salt and pepper squid and a noodle salad. Bon App