Wednesday 4 July 2012

Salted Egg Squid

Salted Egg Deepfried Squid
Like my previous entry, the Salted Egg Chicken, the Salted Egg Squid is appetizing and makes a great snack for parties.

This time, I used one of those curry flavoured fried chicken flour mix which actually gave me a lovely crisp and crunchy layer that is crucial when serving this dish. You don't want to serve soggy squid by the time it reaches your guests!

The other question I always get is how not to serve tough rubbery squid? I have a 20 second rule when it comes to cooking squid. Regardless of the size of the squid, how I cut it or what cooking method I use, I do not cook the squid for more than 20 seconds... unless of course your squid body is larger than your head  :)
So far, the squids I served, whether in salads, noodles or like this recipe, have been quite tender!

Salted Egg Squid Recipe

Ingredient:-
300gm squid
Any crispy fry batter ( spicy flavour if you like the ommph!)
or you could just use an egg dip followed by a seasoned (salt & pepper) flour dip
2 salted egg yolk
1 tbsp butter
A sprig of curry leaves
 Salt & sugar to taste

Method:
  1. First, clean the squid thoroughly, ensuring that you remove the ink sac, cartilage, beak and eyes. Cut the squid into 1/2 inch thick rings for the body and 2 inches length for the tentacles.
  2. Steam egg yolk for 10 minutes. Remove from steamer and mash immediately. Leave aside to cool. 
  3. Heat up frying oil till smoking hot. Have your batter and cut squid ready. 
  4. Drop the battered squid into the oil gentle and fry on high heat for 20 seconds. Remove and drain.
  5. Melt butter in a separate wok on low heat (you don't want to burn the butter) add the mashed steamed egg yolk. Stirfry egg yolk until the mixture becomes bubbly. Add salt & sugar to taste. 
  6. Finally, add curry leaves and fried squid. Give it a quick toss until all the squid pieces are coated with the mixture.

Braised Fish Head with Leek,Tofu & Roast Pork (Hong Siew Yu Tao)

I bought a 1.6 kilo fivefinger threadfin fish (Cantonese: Soon Fong Yu) that some might say has sweeter flesh than the ordinary threadfin (Cantonese: Mah Yau Yu). It sure is more expensive though! I was more than happy to purchase such a fresh specimen from my regular fishmonger as it is hard to come by. This fish is usually snapped up by restaurants. 

Happy with my purchase, I quickly walked over to the vege seller to grab a couple of other ingredients. Now you know how I decide what to cook everyday! I, basically, hunt for the freshest core ingredient in the market (which in this case is a fish) and while the fishmonger is busy cleaning and chopping up the poor fella, I'd be working out my dish!

I chose to braise the fish because it was not necessary for me to serve it hot. The way I braise the fish is also quite a Malaysian Chinese style, not likely to be found elsewhere. My guests were after all from overseas. A combination of leek, tofu and roast pork were chosen to accompany the lovely fish. Leek because it is fragrant, the famous Bentong fried tofu balls because they soak up all that braising sauce and roast pork to give the fish that shine and saltiness!

 
Soon Fong Yu - split and chopped into smaller pieces


Deepfried till golden brown


Braised with vegetable, tofu and roast pork