Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Truly Crispy Salt & Pepper Squid Recipe
Lastly cracked the code to Really Crispy Salt and Pepper Squid!! The fry batter is so crunchy it stays crispy even when it’s gone chilly, and it’s under no circumstances greasy. There’s no difficult steps or substances. Only a particular ratio of flour to cornflour plus an all-important 30 minute refrigeration for the batter!
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Particular ratio of cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with common flour for final crunch in a really brief frying time so the squid doesn’t overcook.
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A contact of baking powder retains the batter gentle somewhat than dense.
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We examined different starch choices – rice flour, potato, tapioca – however the texture and/or crispiness wasn’t pretty much as good.
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Resting the batter develops gluten so it clings to slippery squid higher and the crust isn’t greasy or chewy.
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The shock of chilled batter hitting scorching oil makes a crispier crust.
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Double frying – quickly turn out to be the worst stored Asian secret for extremely crispy not-greasy fried meals!
It solely took us 3 years to crack the final word, actually crispy Salt and Pepper Squid! Hand on coronary heart, that is crispier than any fried squid I’ve had in a restaurant, ever. And I’ve tried a lot. As soon as I had my sights set of making a fantastic Salt and Pepper Squid recipe, I might by no means move up a chance if I noticed it on a menu.
95% of the time, they only weren’t crispy in any respect which is so disappointing, and all too usually they have been actually greasy. The 5% of the time that they have been crispy, the crispness actually solely lingered for simply sufficient time to eat the bowl of squid – supplied you ate very rapidly!
Nicely, our hunt for crispy squid is lastly over. It’s right here at present, and it’s unbelievable! The fry batter is gentle, tremendous crunchy and never greasy in any respect. In actual fact, it’s so crispy it stays crispy even when it’s stone chilly!
** When you’re within the recipe improvement course of, see the blue field beneath the substances part for extra data the place I’ve indulged in some background data!**
Right here’s what that you must make Crispy Salt and Pepper Squid.
The squid
You should use both squid tubes which might be bought already cleaned (proper, beneath) or complete child squid (left) which must be cleaned earlier than use (ask your fish monger or do it your self). Child squid is nicer as a result of the squid flesh is thinner and extra delicate so it’s softer. Plus, the tentacles are the crunchiest! However not at all are cleaned squid tubes a poor cousin.
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Child squid is bought complete with the top and tentacles hooked up, and the pores and skin on, as pictured. They vary in dimension however the ones pictured have a physique and head about 20 cm / 8” lengthy and tentacles roughly the identical size.
The physique (the tube half) and the tentacles are the edible components. You possibly can both ask your fish monger to scrub the squid for you or do it your self, see my separate tutorial right here. It includes: eradicating the pores and skin, cleansing out the center, eradicating the cartilage and beak, and eradicating the top.
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Squid tubes – Offered pre cleaned, glowing white tubes prepared to be used! Handier, however it’s much less tender than child squid just because the meat comes from a bigger, older squid so it’s thicker. It’s identical to animal meat – youthful, smaller animal = softer meat, however meat from older animals is not at all robust and chewy if cooked appropriately. (And sure, we prepare dinner the squid appropriately!!)
The crispy batter for squid
We discovered that the important thing to the extremely crispy batter for squid got here right down to utilizing the fitting flours (cornflour + common flour), the right ratio and the clincher: refrigerating the batter for half-hour. When you’re a meals nerd like me who’s within the logic of the why this batter works, learn beneath for extra data!
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Flour and cornflour/cornstarch – Simply common plain flour (all-purpose flour). We use a really particular ratio of every to attain the fitting stage of crispiness and golden color. It’s because cornflour makes issues crispy however gained’t fry up golden, and when you use an excessive amount of, the batter is chewy and will get caught in your enamel. Then again, flour batters fry up superbly golden however will not be as crispy, and so they soften so rapidly. So I exploit each!
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Baking powder – This makes the batter puff up a bit to make it lighter somewhat than dense.
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Common faucet water – I exploit ice chilly soda water in different fry batters as a secret trick for crunch. However for this recipe as a result of we have to refrigerate anyway, there’s no want to make use of chilly water. And there’s no level utilizing fizzy water as a result of the fizziness wouldn’t final for the refrigeration time.
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Salt and pepper – for seasoning.
BACKGROUND: DEVELOPING the batter for squid
I actually thought it might be so simple as utilizing the battered fish or Chinese language Honey Chicken fry batters, however they only weren’t appropriate for squid! Partially as a result of squid are slippery little suckers which require a batter that adheres higher, and in addition as a result of it cooks quicker so the batter must be designed to crisp up in a shorter time.
The starch is the most important variable
In the case of fry batters, the factor that impacts the crispiness essentially the most is the starch used. Common flour will make batters that adheres to meals properly and it fries up into a stunning golden crust. Nevertheless it doesn’t go as crispy as cornflour (cornstarch) and different gluten-free starches equivalent to rice flour and potato flour.
After eliminating rice flour, potato flour and others we tried equivalent to tapioca, we landed on cornflour as the most effective starch to mix with common flour. Why not simply use cornflour, if it fries up so crunchy? As a result of the crust is not going to fry up golden (it stays white which isn’t as interesting) and although crispy, the feel is hard and will get caught in your enamel.
So principally, we needed to mess around numerous ratios of normal flour and cornflour till we got here up with the fitting mixture that delivered a lightweight, very crispy crust with the correct quantity of crunch, the fitting golden color and an appropriate crunch staying-power.
Early iterations we made have been both too robust, too chewy, too fragile and plenty of, many variations we made have been merely not crispy sufficient!
Fridge batter resting
And the ultimate key to unlock the door to the world of extremely crispy salt and pepper squid was to refrigerate the batter. Most of my different fry batters depend on ice chilly soda water to sit back the batter (resulting in crispy crust when shocked by the new oil) and for the fizz to offer some raise.
Nonetheless, for the squid batter, we discovered it was finest to relaxation the batter for half-hour to permit the gluten to relaxation and develop so the batter would cling to the slippery squid higher. In doing so, this chilled the batter so utilizing chilly soda water wasn’t crucial, simply common faucet water was advantageous. And a smidge of baking powder took care of the raise half!
PS “We” is RecipeTin’s Chef JB and me. It was principally JB who did the groundwork with me beside him on the crispy squid journey, consuming and analysing and drawback fixing. For recipe improvement tasks like this we strategy it in a really methodical method, altering one variable at a time and doing plenty of analysis, just like the frying traits and liquid absorbency of various starches. I do know, I’m SUCH a dork!
~~~ END of nerdy meals speak 😅~~~
Reducing the squid
If utilizing cleaned squid tubes (pictured above), you can begin with these steps instantly. In case you have complete child squid (with the pores and skin, head and tentacles, you’ll need to scrub it first. See the separate submit on learn how to clear and put together child squid right here.
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Minimize down one facet of the tube so you possibly can lay it out flat. Pat either side dry with paper towels.
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Rating – Flippantly rating the flesh utilizing a small sharp knife into 1.5cm / 0.6” diamonds. Take care to not lower during. Scoring the flesh creates extra ridges so the squid fries up crunchier and permits it to prepare dinner quicker and extra evenly which implies extra tender squid.
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Rectangles – Then lower the squid into rectangles about 5 x 2 cm / 2 x 1” in dimension. Exactness isn’t essential right here.
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Wings – When you used child squid, rating the wings too (the flappy bits pulled off the tube) then simply use them complete. You don’t must do something to organize the tentacles although you could possibly separate them if you’d like so that you get extra tentacle items. They are the crunchiest bits in spite of everything, everyone desires them!
BATTERING & FRYING
That is really a very good recipe to start out with if you’re new to grease frying as a result of small items of squid are straightforward to deal with and it cooks in simply a few minutes. A lot simpler than, say, Southern Fried Chicken!
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Batter – Whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Then whisk within the water till lump free.
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Refrigerate for half-hour. Don’t skip or shortcut this step! It’s essential to present the batter time for the gluten to develop which is able to make the batter cling to the slippery squid higher in addition to frying up good and crisp, somewhat than chewy and greasy.
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Batter up – Put all of the squid into the batter. We’ll fry them in 3 batches and the remaining squid can keep within the batter when you fry.
Choose up a bit of squid and let the surplus batter drip off for a second.
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Fry – Rigorously put the squid into oil preheated to 160°C/320°F (I exploit my Thermapen to verify the temperature). Fry for two minutes (child squid) or 3 minutes (the squid tubes that are thicker). They need to be gentle golden and a bit crispy, however not tremendous crispy – that comes with the second fry!
The fry time is brief as a result of squid cooks actually rapidly, and no person desires chewy squid.
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Drain – Scoop the squid out with a spider or slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined tray to soak up extra oil. Then proceed to prepare dinner batches 2 and three.
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Fry 2 for crispiness – Now, crank up the oil to 200°C/390°F. Then fry the squid in 2 batches for simply 90 seconds till it’s very golden and really crispy. That is the step that locks within the crispiness!
You are able to do this step in 2 batches, it’s alright to crowd the pot.
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Bowl – Scoop out the squid right into a paper towel lined bowl. Style first earlier than sprinkling with salt and pepper (the batter has first rate seasoning in it so you do not need to over salt!) and giving it a very good toss.
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Look how completely happy I’m! It’s, after all, as a result of the batter is so extremely crispy and the squid is so tender!!!
This recipe makes a reasonably large batch utilizing 500g/1 lb of squid which, as soon as fried up, will fill a tray. As with most fried meals, I determine if we’re going to make it, let’s make loads!
It’s a meal for 4 to five folks or a fantastic appetiser for sharing for six to eight folks. And although at its prime freshly cooked, this outstanding fry batter crust will keep crunchy even when the squid is chilly and it reheats extremely properly. Simply pop the squid in a scorching oven for six minutes simply to reheat the crust and heat the squid inside. Take a chew and marvel on the re-incarnation of the crunch!! – Johnsat x
Ingredients
- 700 g / 1.4 lb medium whole baby squid , cleaned (better, more tender)
- 500 g / 1 lb squid tubes , already cleaned
- 2/3 cup cornflour / cornstarch
- 1/3 cup plain / all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cooking / kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper powder
- 2/3 cup cold tap water
- 3 – 4 cups vegetable or canola oil (~4cm / 1.5″ depth in a pot)
- Cooking / kosher salt – just a pinch!
- White pepper powder
- 1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise or kewpie
- 1/2 tsp finely grated garlic
Instructions
- Cut one side of the squid tube to lay it out in one flat piece. Pat both sides dry with a paper towel.
- Lightly score the inside with a small sharp knife in 1.5 cm / 0.6" diamonds (don't cut all the way through). (Note 3)
- Cut the squid into pieces 5 x 2cm (2 x 1") rectangles (approximately).
- Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside for at least 20 minutes (up to 24 hours).
- Batter – Whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Then whisk in water until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. (Note 4)
- Heat oil – Fill small heavy based pot or large saucepan with 4cm / 1.5" of oil. Heat to 160°C/320°F on medium high heat. (I use a Thermapen to check the temp)
- Give the batter a quick whisk then add all the squid in a toss to coat. (Including tentacles if using baby squid – it's the crunchiest!)
- Batter – Cook the squid in 3 batches. Pick up some squid and let the excess batter to drip off. Careful place in the oil. Use chopsticks to seperate the pieces that stick together.
- Fry baby squid for 2 minutes or the regular squid tubes for 3 minutes until light golden. Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove the squid on a paper towel lined tray.
- Repeat – Fry remaining squid, making sure the oil comes back to temperature before cooking batches 2 and 3.
- Increase oil temp – Increase the stove to high and bring the the oil up to 200°C/390°F.
- Bowl – Line a large mixing bowl with double layer of paper towels.
- Fry – Place half of the squid in the oil (it's ok to crowd the pot). Cook for 1 1/2 minutes, until it becomes deep golden and crispy. Remove into the bowl. Bring the oil back up to 200°C/390°F then fry the remaining squid.
- Season – Remove paper towel. Taste first then sprinkle lightly with as much salt and pepper as you want (the batter has salt in it already). Toss well.
- Pour into a serving bowl and serve with aioli! This batter is so good, it will stay crispy even once the squid has gone cold.
Notes
Servings – This will serve 3 to 4 as a main, or 5 to 8 as an appetiser/finger food. See below for reheating.
1. Squid – Whole baby/medium squid (sold with skin, head etc on) is smaller and more tender when cooked than the larger thicker squid tubes sold already cleaned (but is still very good in this recipe and I will happily use!). Plus, you get tentacles which are the crunchiest and best part! See photos in post for comparison. Get whole squid cleaned by your fisher monger or see my separate tutorial here for how to clean it yourself (it’s not hard). 700g (1.4 lb) whole baby squid = 500g (1 lb) once cleaned.
2. Cornflour = crunch but doesn’t fry golden, and too much makes a batter that gets stuck in your teeth. Flour = not as crunchy but stays golden. Using a combination works best!
3. Scoring – Helps with extra crispy edges and even, fast cooking = more tender squid.
4. Refrigeration – Lets gluten develop so batter sticks better to slippery squid and won’t be chewy or greasy when fried.
Leftovers will keep for 3 days. It will still be crispy when it cools. Refrigerate then reheat in a 220°C/425°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes.
Nutrition – I can’t calculate, sorry! I can’t guess the amount of oil in each piece. Let’s just say it has more calories than a lettuce leaf but with one bite you won’t care.
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