Entrees

Sichuan 'leather' squid with lemon pepper salsa

Name: Sichuan-grilled squid recipe
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 800g squid; 4 red bird’s-eye chillies, sliced; 2 tsp Sichuan pepper, crushed; 1/2 green capsicum, finely chopped; 1 small celery stalk, finely chopped; 1 long green shallot, thinly sliced; Juice of 1/2 lemon; 1/2 tsp ground white pepper

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by Merrick Watts

CONTRIBUTOR

Sep 22, 2023

"Don’t let the ‘leather’ put you off. Here, the squid is cooked for longer than usual, delivering a pleasantly chewy result." – Merrick Watts. This is a recipe inspired by Luke Nguyen.

4 (800g) medium whole squid, tentacles attached, cleaned
4 red bird’s-eye chillies, sliced
2 tsp Sichuan pepper, crushed

Lemon pepper salsa

1/2 green capsicum, finely chopped
1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
1 long green shallot, thinly sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp ground white pepper

Method

1.

Wash squid tube and tentacles and pat dry with paper towel. Score the flesh in a crisscross fashion, being careful to not cut all the way through.
2.

Pound chilli to a paste using a mortar and pestle, then add 1 tbs salt flakes and pound until combined. Place the squid, tentacles and chilli paste in a large bowl and massage the paste all over the squid. Sprinkle with Sichuan pepper.
3.

For the salsa, combine all ingredients and 1/4 tsp salt flakes in a medium bowl. Use a barbecue fish-grilling basket (see note) to chargrill squid and tentacles over high heat on an open flame barbecue or directly on your kitchen gas hob. Grill for 1-2 minutes each side until cooked and edges are crisply charred. Cut squid into rough 5cm pieces and halve tentacles.
4.

Serve topped with salsa.

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Recipe Notes

Using a fish-grilling basket (from outdoor, camping and hardware stores, and Asian grocers) keeps your squid flat so it doesn’t curl up on cooking. You can also cook between two small wire baking racks.