Salt and Pepper Calamari with Chilli Lime Dipping Sauce

Bull In A China Shop Scarlett Bubbles

Salt and pepper calamari is one of those dishes people order out constantly and cook at home almost never, on the assumption that it is difficult. It is not difficult. It is just unforgiving of two specific mistakes.

The first is cooking it for too long. Squid has a very short window where it is tender, then a long stretch where it is rubber, then eventually it comes good again after about 40 minutes of braising. At home you want the first window, which is about 90 seconds.

The second is using the wrong flour. Plain flour goes soft almost immediately and gives you that disappointing damp coating. Rice flour is what gets you the shatter.

Get those two right and this is a 20 minute dish.

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a starter

For the calamari

• 600g cleaned squid tubes
• 150g rice flour
• 2 tablespoons cornflour
• 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
• 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon caster sugar
• Neutral oil for frying, roughly 1 litre
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• Aioli, to serve

For the chilli lime dipping sauce

• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1 long red chilli, finely sliced
• A small handful of coriander, chopped

Optional, for scattering

• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 1 extra red chilli, sliced

Method

1. Prepare the squid. Slice the tubes open lengthways so they lie flat. Score the inside surface lightly in a diamond pattern, taking care not to cut all the way through, then cut into pieces roughly 4cm wide. The scoring helps them curl and gives the coating something to hold onto.
2. Dry them properly. Pat every piece thoroughly with paper towel. Wet squid steams instead of frying and the coating slides straight off. This step matters more than any other.
3. Mix the coating. Combine the rice flour, cornflour, salt, white pepper and sugar in a large bowl.
4. Make the dipping sauce. Whisk the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then stir through the garlic, chilli and coriander. Set aside so the flavours settle.
5. Heat the oil to 180°C in a deep, heavy pan. If you do not have a thermometer, a pinch of the flour mix should sizzle immediately and float.
6. Coat and fry. Toss the squid through the flour mixture in batches, shaking off the excess properly. Fry in small batches for 90 seconds, no longer, until pale gold and crisp. Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and you will lose the crunch.
7. Drain and season. Onto a wire rack rather than paper towel, so the underside stays crisp. Scatter with spring onion and extra chilli.
8. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, aioli and the dipping sauce. This dish waits for nobody.

Why it works with Scarlett Bubbles

Fried food and sparkling wine is one of the oldest reliable pairings there is, and the mechanism is simple. Bubbles and acid physically cut through fat, scrubbing the palate clean between mouthfuls so the tenth piece tastes as good as the first.

What makes Scarlett Bubbles a better choice here than a straight dry sparkling is the fruit weight. Salt and pepper calamari carries a lot of white pepper and a lot of salt, and a very lean wine can taste thin and slightly sour against it. The bright orange blossom and juicy peach in this one gives you something to push against.

The chilli lime sauce is the other consideration. Lime is aggressively acidic, which flattens plenty of wines, but a touch of residual sugar keeps everything in balance and stops the wine tasting hollow after a mouthful of sauce.

One practical note. Serve the wine genuinely cold, around 6 to 8°C. The temperature contrast against hot fried food is half the pleasure.