As I teenager I would have refused to eat squid; though was never offered it. I just imagined it would be slimy to eat just like a raw slug! OK, I was a fussy eater then! My mind was opened by being invited to a Chinese New Year dinner in Glasgow by a Singaporean friend. This had about 10 delicious courses and I was exposed to authentic Chinese food for the first time at a restaurant somewhere on Sauchiehall Street.

One very tasty course was a puzzle to me. What was the seafood with the vegatables? To my amazement it was squid - it was not slimy - and I had enjoyed it. From then onwards I have tried cooking squid first with the help of Chinese friends then experimenting a little myself.

However, I have found that both restaurants and my cooking were a bit hit and miss on the squid texture. I often seemed to end up with something rubbery - yet some restaurants and cooks seemed (though not always!) to be able to serve very tender squid - I wondered why. After having a very tender squid tapa in Tarifa I was determined to understand more about this. A Google search yielded a link which I believe is the golden rule for cooking squid. This cites a book called "The International Squid Cookbook" by Isaac Cronin which gives the following rule.

When heated, squid protein becomes firm rapidly and then turns chewy until long cooking breaks down the muscle. Much of the squid's reputation as a tough food comes from lack of knowledge of this simple fact. Sautes should be cooked no longer than three minutes and stews no less than twenty minutes. Squid cooked for less than twenty minutes or more than about three minutes probably will be tough. If you don't believe me, just try it.

So for the last 5 months I have followed this rule and so far have always had tender squid. I realise that on the occasions when I cooked squid and ended up with a rubbery result I cooked/fried/grilled for at least 5 minutes - too long! Squid rapidly changes colour and like raw prawns cooks rapidly. However, unlike prawns, there is the firming of the protein to worry about.

Despite Isaac's obviously deep expertise I tend to be more conservative. I tend to fry squid (calamari) for maximum of 2 minutes and stew squid for well over 30 minutes.

Add posting to:

Delicious Delicious Digg Digg submit to reddit Reddit StumbleUpon
Facebook