Stir-Fried Squid with Peanuts & Chiles
Submitted by randglanz
Crosshatched squid stir-fried with crunchy peanuts, garlic, chiles, and a glossy soy-cilantro sauce. Quick, bold Chinese-style seafood that’s on the table in under 40 minutes.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
40 minIf you’ve ever had kung pao anything, you know how good the combo of peanuts and chiles can be. Now put squid in the mix and things get really interesting.
The secret here is the crosshatch scoring. Shallow cuts in a diamond pattern across the squid body cause each piece to curl up when it hits the hot oil, creating little pockets that grab onto the garlicky, chile-spiked sauce. It looks impressive, and it takes about two minutes of knife work.
From there, everything moves fast. Garlic and chiles go golden in the wok, peanuts get a quick toast, and the squid cooks in under a minute. A splash of broth, soy, and cilantro pulls it all together into a glossy, punchy stir-fry.
Pro Tips
- Score the squid in a crosshatch pattern but don’t cut all the way through. The pieces will curl beautifully and trap the sauce in every groove
- Squid goes from tender to rubber band in seconds. Pull it at 30 seconds and let the residual heat finish the job
- Toast the peanuts with the garlic at low heat so both get golden without burning
Ingredients
Directions
Sauté garlic and chile peppers in half the oil over low heat in a wok or heavy frying pan until garlic is lightly browned.
Add peanuts for the last 30 seconds.
Stir continuously.
Remove ingredients from the pan, add more oil, if necessary, and the squid.
Cook for 30 seconds. Return peanuts, garlic and chiles to pan.
Immediately add all but 1 Tb of the stock, soy sauce and cilantro.
Continue stir-frying for another minute.
Add cornstarch mixture.
When sauce thickens, remove from heat and serve.
Turn and repeat at right angles to original cuts.
Don’t cut all the way through the squid body.
Cut each scored squid body into three or four pieces.
When cooked, the squid will roll up and the crosshatching will catch and hold the sauce.
It’s much easier to do than to describe.
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