Squid is something that can be difficult to do well. You either need to cook it very quick or for a long time for it to be tender- anywhere in between and you'll end up with a chewy flavoured rubber band. Here are 7 recipes we cooked up and found to work well with this slippery creature.

Fried Calamari



How lovely is a plate of golden fried squid? Whether in a batter and eaten with aoili or just simply fried with seasonings it just makes us think of beach holidays with white sandy beaches. We personally like the Greek style, simple- just dressed in flour, then fried lightly. The perfect skiving off food.

4-5 medium squids
1 cup flour
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp paprika/ cayenne pepper
1 lemon
2 cups vegetable oil

Clean squids and slice them into rings. Mix flour and seasonings. Dry the squid and dredge them in the flour mix. Fry in hot oil. When they rise to the top and turn a little golden lift them out (it's about 1 minute- too long and they'll turn rubbery). Another variation is to break an egg in another bowl. Dredge the squid in flour mix, then egg, then flour again. This gives it more better coating. Just be sure to add more salt if you are doing this variation. To serve just squeeze a little bit of lemon on top and enjoy!

Sate Cumi



Yeah I know, any Malay-style recipe that uses peanut butter have people up in arms. "You're cheating!" They say, "itu Mat Salleh punya resipi", they retort. You're supposed to blend nuts, then dry roast them then cook them in some spices and coconut cream. Seriously, sometimes a short cut is not a bad thing particularly if you use unsweetened peanut butter. You get that great nutty flavour AND added creaminess. As a matter of fact we tried making a classic cumi bakar first by innovating a recipe we found online. It turned out disappointing, the marinade was too bland and we had to put lashings of hot sauce to make it edible. Hence we decided to try a more avant garde approach and well... it was delicious!

8-10 medium squids
1/2 cup sweet soy sauce
3 tbs crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened)
1/4 cup/ 60g butter
Skewers

To blend:
8 shallots
7 cloves garlic
1 stick of lemongrass
3 candlenuts
1 cm ginger
1 star anise
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder

Additional:
some more shallots, sliced chillies, sliced lime

Clean squid, score it and mix it in with all the ingredients. Let it marinade for at least an hour/ overnight. Skewer them (soak the skewers first so they don't burn). Grill them (about 3 minutes rotating them around). Place leftover marinade in a pan and simmer. Add in fresh shallots, chillies and a squeeze of lime beofore serving it with the sate.

Sotong Masak Hitam



The black colour of this dish is interesting and it has an entirely different quality visually and in flavour than if you were to cook it with soy sauce. Some of our friends as kids used to wear the squid rings on their fingers and show them off to each other before eating them one by one, black gravy dripping like a horror movie. Try this dish if you've never had squid ink before, or if you have fussy young children.

To Blend:
5 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
½ inch fresh turmeric

3 tbs vegetable oil
1 stick lemongrass, bruised
3 large red chillies, bruised
½ large onion, sliced into rings
500g baby squid, cleaned with ink sac intact, cut into rings.
Salt

Heat vegetable oil in a wok. Once hot, add the pounded ingredients and fry until the onions become transparent. Stir the lemongrass in until fragrant, then put the squid in. Break the ink sacs and mix the black liquid around evenly. Season with salt to taste, and add water if you prefer the gravy more soupy. Leave to bubble away on a low heat for at least 5 minutes, or until the squid is cooked. Serve with hot rice accompanied by a light vegetable lauk, like sawi putih masak lemak.

"Squid takes on many different flavours"

Thai Squid Salad




This option is a refreshing and zesty way to enjoy a bowl of squid. Each bite allows for a different flavour to shine through; the tanginess of the lime, the sweetness of the sugar, the heat from the chilli sauce, and the refreshing kick of fresh herbs.

5 medium squid
Juice of 2 limes
1 lime, sliced for boiling
1 Tbs sriracha
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 kaffir lime leaf, sliced
3 shallots, minced
2 Tbs brown sugar
Chopped mint

Clean and slice the squid into rings. Bring water to boil with salt and slice up one lime and toss it into the boiling water. This gets rid of the fishy taste of the squid. Drop the squid in the boiling water for 1min and remove immediately. Set aside. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl. Toss the cooled down squid with it and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. You can even cool this overnight for the squid to absorb more of the flavours.

Baked Stuffed Squid



This dish is a winner in our books! Absolutely lovely especially if you have additional rice that is baked on the outside and it gets crisp. This dish has a sort of Mediterranean feel to it and the delicate flavours are a treat. While we didn’t cook it this way, you can use white wine in place of the chicken stock for a more complex taste.

10 medium squid
6 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup black raisins
4 tomatoes from the can
1/3 cup chicken stock
Salt and Pepper

Wash and clean the squid,. Heat oil in a heavy frying pan, then add the onion and cook transparent. Stir in the rice and sauté a few minutes, until golden. Blend in the parsley, mint, pine nuts, and raisins, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add enough water to half cover and cook for a few minutes, then stuff the squid sacs with the mixture using a very small spoon and allowing enough liquid in each for the rice to cook. Seal opening with skewers or toothpicks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, 1/3 cup stock, and a little salt and pepper in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the squid. If you have remaining rice spread it around the squid in the pan to cook. Bake at 150C for 1 1/2 hours or until the squid and rice are tender and the sauce has thickened. Serve warm or cold.

Korean Pickled Squid



This spicy Korean pickled squid (ojinguh jut) packs a lot of flavor, so eat it sparingly as a side dish to compliment your meal. Make sure you rinse it well after it sits in the salt if not you’ll end up with a rubbery salty strip of squid.

4 medium squid
2 Tbsp salt
4 Tbsp chili pepper paste (kochujang)
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp rice vinegar

Wash and rinse squid thoroughly. Cut into thin strips, about 2 inches long. In glass bowl, cover squid strips with salt. Let stand for at least 40 minutes. Drain, rinse, and pat dry. Combine all other ingredients for sauce. In a saucepot, simmer sauce on the stove for 2 minutes. Let the sauce cool. Combine squid with the sauce mixture until well-coated. Cover and store at room temperature for at least 12 hours. Serve immediately or store squid in the refrigerator.

Sambal Tumis Sotong Kering



“Musty” and “delicious” shouldn't go in the same sentence, but it does here, tasting somewhere between the flavours of cuttlefish and raw ikan bilis. The spiciness of the chilli boh really lifts yet grounds the dish. The texture is pleasantly chewy. As you can probably tell by our description, it's a dish that crosses many contradictory lines in a spicy-umami-sweet mess of bliss.

Blend:
7 shallots
3 garlic cloves
1½ inch ginger
1 inch fresh turmeric

4 tbsp vegetable oil
150g dried squid, the small variety (sometimes labeled as “kepala sotong”), soaked 6 hours, drained, cleaned
100g dried chillies, soaked at least an hour, blended into chilli boh (we used fresh in the photo, you can too)
2 inch ball of asam jawa, mixed with water, pulp and seeds strained
1 tbps sugar
Salt

Heat vegetable oil in a wok. Once hot, add the pounded ingredients and fry until the onions become transparent. Stir in the chilli boh and leave to fry until it starts to bubble and the oil is released. Add sugar and pour in the asam jawa juice. Cook for 2 minutes then add the squid. Mix everything well and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt. Tasting is very important here – the dried squid is a little salty to begin with, so do not add too much salt. Serve as the sambal for your nasi lemak, or with plain white rice.