Hot and Sour Pen-Tube Squid
A classic Hunan home-style dish: squid scored in a crosshatch pattern and curled into pen-tube shapes, then stir-fried with minced pork and pickled chilies for a tangy, spicy, and refreshing bite.
Ingredients
Soaked squid (scored in cross-hatch pattern, cut into rectangles, blanched into pen-tube shape)
300 g
Lean pork (minced)
50 g
Pickled vegetables
25 g
Pickled chili peppers
to taste
Soy sauce
to taste
Yellow vinegar
to taste
MSG
to taste
Wet starch (for marinating and thickening)
to taste
Clear broth
to taste
Instructions
1
Prepare the squid
Score the squid in a cross-hatch pattern and cut into rectangular pieces. Blanch in 70°C water until they curl into pen-tube shapes, then soak in alkaline water for 30 minutes. Remove, rinse well to wash away the alkaline taste, and season with the seasonings and wet starch for flavor. Finally, blanch in 80% hot oil until just cooked through and remove.
2
Stir-fry
Leave a thin layer of oil in the wok, add the minced pork and pickled chili peppers, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the squid along with the soy sauce, yellow vinegar, and MSG, and toss together. Pour in the clear broth and bring to a boil, thicken with a cornstarch slurry, then transfer to a plate and serve.
