Fried calamares continues the theme of easy 
recipes for reef fresh seafood at beach side markets. The day I purchased the live shrimp in Batangas in my previous post, I also bought a kilo of small to medium sized squid for PHP130 a kilo (highway robbery, I know, but it was a holiday weekend and I am the equivalent of a target tourist who should be fleeced). For dinner that evening, I decided to make a very simple appetizer of calamares (fried squid) served with a tomato salad dressed with a basil vinaigrette.
To make, clean the squid (pull out the “bone†and 
rinse the insides really, really well). Cut off the ink sack and heads but use the tentacles as well. Peel the squid (pain in the neck, I know but a necessary step), rinse again and dry very well with paper towels. Slice the squid bodies into rings that are about ¼ inch thick. Heat up a small pan and add vegetable oil to about 2 inches in depth and put over a high flame. When the oil is hot, coat the squid rings and tentacles in seasoned breadcrumbs (breadcrumbs, chopped fresh or dried oregano, salt, pepper) and put into the hot oil in small batches. Do not bread all the squid at once as it will get soggy. Cook the squid for just a minute or so or until it floats to the surface and has some color. Remove immediately and dry on paper towels and do the next batch. The crust should be crisp and light golden brown. The squid inside should be tender and not overly chewy. Overcooking will toughen the squid.
I served the calamares with wedges of lemon. In addition, a side dish of chopped yellow and red tomatoes with a vinaigrette and a chiffonade of basil leaves was a nice foil for the fried squid. I didn’t cook the whole kilo of squid but if I did it would have easily served 8 adults with generous portions.
10 Responses
Try soaking the calamares in iced cold water, then dry them on kitchen paper towel….
flour works just as well.. for added spiceness i add chili flakes/powder… i dip the cooked calamares in light soy for added asian touch….
its me again…iced cold water keeps it firm.. we use half
semolina half regular flour for crispiness…
You are lucky for getting them at P130/k, the going rate in the market i go to is P140-160/k. Tried adding a pinch of 5-spice powder in the breading instead of the oregano, and it was like i was transported to ongpin.
are there any available ingredients for the salad dressing
aside from the one you mentioned which really fit to Filipino taste? I like calamares very much. Hay! I’m hungry na after
reading the Calamares recipe.
Calamares are traditionally served with a mayonnaise based dressing. For an easy one, just use mayonnaise, a touch of mustard and some drops of lemon juice and stir. For Calamares with a “Filipino” taste I suppose you could try a soy sauce based sauce with calamansi although I would find that a bit strong…
For a dip with a “Filipino” taste try mixing rice vinegar, touch of fish sauce or patis, chopped ginger, minced shallot, and chopped fresh chile, touch of sugar.
Good with broiled seafood or with pancit (noodle dishes).
thanks for the recipe… i’ll try it!
its my boyfriend’s favorite…
i hope he’ll like it!
thanks, MM for the nice recipe…Calamares is one of my faves and there’s one place (Greek) that serves it along with Ceasar Salad… Ang saraaaaaaaaappp.. I always come by there to eat dinner before going home when I’m too lazy to cook or just craving for it…
I would love to make it at home…. yummy….
try cooking calamares this way. use frozen calamares cleaned calamari rings and Soak it in buttermilk. lightly cover it in 1/2 part Masa Harina (I think this is fine corn meal) and 1/2 part flour. Shake off the excess and fry it. Season it after frying with whatever you want. Salt and pepper with a dash of cayanne pepper if you like. Then eat it immediately.