Sweet & Sour Squids

Before I came over to SA, I did not expect that it will be a problem getting fresh seafood over here, especially when I live in the eastern province just along the coastline. When it comes to seafood, what I've seen in the supermarkets were really miserable. Selection of fresh seafood is rather limited and worse of all, they look stale and it seems like they've been sitting on the shelves for days. This is definitely disappointing for a huge seafood lover like myself.

And then I had a thought, maybe the locals only eat beef and lambs but not seafood? But a quick check on my Middle Eastern cookbook confirm otherwise, because there are quite a number of seafood recipes in the book. So where do the locals get their fresh seafood then?

Just when I thought I would not get any chance to cook any seafood dishes, we happened to drive past a shopping street selling all sorts of fresh produce, from butchery, to vegetables stalls and.... a row of shop houses selling seafood! We did not get down the car then because it was prayer time and all the shops were closed. It would be crazy to wait for the shops to open under such intense heat and so we had no choice but to leave for our next destination. Throughout the whole day, I was very excited and all I could think of was all sorts of seafood dishes and nothing else.

The next day, we made a trip to that shopping street again. After visiting the shops, all I can say is, the shops sell more or less the same stuffs. In a typical shop, there are about 6 to 7 types of fish, a counter with 1 type of prawns, and a bucket of squids. Even though the variety is still limited but at least the seafood looks fresh. I was happy enough with what I saw and we went home with some fish and half a kilo of squids which was later being used to cook a sweet & sour squids dish.


Sweet & Sour Squids Recipe

Ingredients:
300g squids
1 stalk spring onion (chopped)
1 onion (cut into wedges)
3 dried chilli (soaked and chopped)
3 garlic cloves (chopped)


Seasoning:
3 tbs tomato sauce
3 tbs chilli sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbs lime juice


Method:
1) Wash the squids, remove the innards and then cut into pieces. Blanch with boiling water, then drain and set aside.
2) Heat up 3 tbs of oil and then stir-fry onion, garlic cloves and dried chilli until fragrant.
3) Add in seasoning and squid, stir constantly over high heat until aromatic or the sauce is slightly thickened.
4) Sprinkle with chopped spring onion, stir well. Dish up and serve.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This looks delicious! I love calamari, but I've never had squid prepared this way. I'm sure I would love it!
Y said…
What a delicious looking dish. I'd definitely like to have a go at making it some time.
Mrs Ergül said…
This looks great! Not to mention, simple too!
Unknown said…
That looks wonderful and make me feel like making a squid dish myself. ;)

If I can't find any seafood in the place I live, I would be so miserable because that's like my life form.
Stardust said…
Glad to hear that you've found the right stalls!! This should surely make your stay a lot more pleasant!!

The squid dish looks mouth watering and I'm all prepared to try when I've returned to Jap! =D
Anonymous said…
Must have more rice to go with this dish! I cook this version with prawns. Tried the squids with teriyaki sauce. Maybe I should go buy some squids soon. ;)
Edith said…
Shall we have seafood dinner when you come home? I know of good and nice place for awesome crab.
Anonymous said…
sweet and sour is such a combo not to love! this looks greeat..i can almost smell it.
Food For Tots said…
Squid is my favourite. Remind me of those sambal squids that serve with nasi lemak. Your recipe looks so simple and the dish looks so yummy. My saliva is drooping now. Hehehe..!
Anonymous said…
This photo reminds me of my dad's sweet & sour squid!!! Drooling right now!
daphne said…
I think squid and prawns r one of the most vesatile seafood- after fish of course. That looks great and and will hit the right spot with me. =)