Salt and pepper squid with a crunchy salad
40 min · 22 g protein · 235 cals / serving
The pub and yum cha favourite, crisped in the air fryer: tender squid in a light, peppery cornflour crust, tossed with fried garlic, chilli and spring onion, with a crunchy lime-dressed salad and a zingy lime-pepper yoghurt mayo for dipping.
Ingredients
Squid
- 700 g squid (calamari), cleaned squid tubes, thawed
- 45 g cornstarch, cornflour; about 35 g of it sticks to the squid
- 1 tsp salt, sea salt flakes, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- a good spray cooking spray
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 long red red chili pepper, sliced
- 3 spring onions green onions, sliced
Salad
- 1 cos heart romaine lettuce, shredded
- 2 Lebanese cucumbers, cut into batons
- 1 large carrot, julienned or grated
- 1/8 red cabbage, finely shredded
- a handful fresh mint
- a handful fresh cilantro
- 30 ml lime juice
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
Lime-pepper mayo
- 100 g nonfat Greek yogurt
- 4 tsp light mayonnaise
- 2 tsp lime juice
Steps
- Slit the squid tubes open and pat them very dry. Lightly score the inside in a fine criss-cross with a sharp knife, then cut into 2 × 5 cm strips.
- Whisk the egg whites lightly in one bowl. Mix the cornflour, half the salt and both peppers in another. Dip the squid in the egg white, let the excess drip off, then toss well in the seasoned cornflour and shake off the loose coating.
- Heat the air fryer to 390°F and the oven to 210°F. Spread the squid in a single layer (cook in batches), spray well with oil and air-fry for 5–7 minutes, shaking halfway and spraying again, until the coating is crisp and pale golden. Keep the finished batches warm on a tray in the oven while you cook the rest.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat and fry the garlic and chilli for 1 minute until the garlic is just golden. Add the spring onion and the hot squid and toss with the rest of the salt.
- Toss the lettuce, cucumber, carrot, cabbage and herbs with the lime juice, fish sauce and sweet chilli sauce.
- Stir the yoghurt, mayonnaise and lime juice together with a big pinch of pepper. Serve the squid on the salad with the lime-pepper mayo and lime wedges.
Good to know
How do I keep squid tender?
Cook it either very quickly or very slowly; anything in between turns it rubbery. In a hot air fryer the thin strips are done in minutes, so take them out as soon as they are crisp.
No air fryer?
Spread the coated squid on a baking paper-lined tray, spray well and bake at 445°F fan-forced on the top shelf for 8–10 minutes, turning once.
Why score the squid?
The criss-cross cuts make the strips curl as they cook and give the coating more edges to crisp up on, which is the classic restaurant look.
Per
- Calories
- 60
- Protein
- (39%)
- 6 g
- Fat
- (20%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (41%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 333 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 939 kcal goes into the pot and 1806 g of ingredients comes out as about 1560 g of food: 60 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.