Have you ever had the barbecue squid at the beachside? The freshly caught squid is marinated and grilled over the coal is a delicious way to enjoy your vacation.
Making the barbecued squid at home is quite easy. There is an abundance of squid at the wet market that comes in various sizes. The medium-sized to large squid is great for grilling.
Grilled squid is well known throughout the world. Thus, there are many types of marinade that goes well with the squid. For example, the Greek-style recipe uses honey and oregano marinade. For Italian style, lemon and rosemary are commonly used. In Asia, the marinade includes chilli for the spicier taste that was preferred by locals.
To get the perfectly tender grilled squid is quite difficult. You need to cook it for a few minutes under high heat so that it will still be tender and juicy. If you cook for too long, the meat will be tough and rubbery.
Enjoy the barbecued squid with a plate of rice and vegetables.
Ingredients:
- 1 large squid, about 800g (cleaned and skinless)
- 3 red bell pepper (chopped)
- 13 red Thai chilli (remove the stem)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 large shallots (coarsely chopped)
- 1-inch ginger
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- Cooking spray
Directions:
- Cut open the squid and make crisscross cuts over the body. This is to helps the marinade to penetrate the flesh for extra flavour. You can cut it into smaller pieces if you have a small grill.
- Put the bell pepper, Thai chilli, garlic, shallots, and ginger in a food processor. Blend them until becomes a paste.
- Pour the blended paste into a bowl. Then, add in sugar, soy sauce, black pepper, and salt. Mix the ingredients together.
- Place the squid with two-third of the chilli mixture in a container. Make sure to coat the squid thoroughly. Marinate the squid in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight. Reserve the remaining one-third of the chilli mixture for dipping sauce.
- Preheat the grill under medium heat. Spray the grill rack with some cooking spray. Place the marinated squid on the grill.
- Grill the squid for 2 minutes on each side or until it becomes slightly charred. Do not overcook as the meat will become rubbery.
- Serve with the dipping sauce and a plate of rice.