Oil-Burst Squid Flowers

Name: Oil-Burst Squid Flowers
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 400 g Clean squid meat (scored with crosshatch pattern, cut into rectangular blocks 5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide); 5 g Fine salt; 3 g MSG; 1 g Ground white pepper; 3 g Minced ginger; 15 g Shaoxing wine; 5 g Minced garlic; 2 g Minced scallion; 15 g Wet starch; 1000 g (actual oil consumption 100 g) Rendered pork lard (for frying)

A classic Zhejiang specialty. Squid is scored in a cross-hatch pattern and flash-fried in hot oil, yielding a bright white color with a crisp, tender, and refreshingly clean flavor.

25 min

Easy

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Ingredients

Clean squid meat (scored with crosshatch pattern, cut into rectangular blocks 5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide) 400 g

Fine salt 5 g

MSG 3 g

Ground white pepper 1 g

Minced ginger 3 g

Shaoxing wine 15 g

Minced garlic 5 g

Minced scallion 2 g

Wet starch 15 g

Rendered pork lard (for frying) 1000 g (actual oil consumption 100 g)

Instructions

Prepare the squid

Score the squid meat with a crosshatch (wheat-flower) pattern, then cut into rectangular blocks 5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide.

Make the sauce

In a small bowl, combine fine salt, Shaoxing wine, ground white pepper, MSG, stock, and wet starch to make a sauce.

Blanch the squid

Drop the squid into boiling water for a brief blanch, then remove and drain.

Oil-burst to finish

Heat a wok over the burner, add rendered pork lard, and heat to about 175°C (roughly 70% hot). Add the squid and burst-fry briefly, then remove and drain the oil. Leave a thin layer of oil in the wok, add the minced garlic, scallion, and ginger, and stir-fry until fragrant. Return the squid to the pan, pour in the sauce, and quickly toss until the sauce tightly coats the squid. Serve immediately.