I am always a little worried when it comes to squid as to whether it is going to be chewy or tender. I needn’t of worried with this recipe as the scoring of the squid and minimal cooking time makes this a tasty tender dish. We based this on rick steins recipe but added in a few extra things to make it more substantial and tasty. Once again it is thanks to our lovely fishmonger who supplied and prepared the squid for us. I added some kecep manis to my noodles which is an Indonesian soy sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 prepared squid with tentacles
• thumb piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil, for frying
• 1 nest rice noodles, cooked

Method

1. Tenderise the squid by closely scoring diagonally both ways and sides so you have a kriss cross pattern, making sure you don’t cut through the flesh.
2. Heat a wok on a high heat and toast the peppercorns for a couple of minutes until they become aromatic, transfer to a mortar and pestle and lightly crush, stir in the salt.
3. Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking. Add half the oil and half the squid and stir-fry it for 2 minutes, until lightly coloured. Tip on to a plate, then repeat with the remaining oil and the rest of the squid.
4. Add the chilli, ginger and garlic to the wok and fry for around a minute, stir in the pepper mixture.
5. Add the noodles and stir fry for 30 secs. Tip in the squid, sesame oil and soy sauce mix and serve immediately.