Taiwanese Squid: 3 Cup Squid

This is a stir-fry that really is more about the seasonings used in preparation and that are used more commonly for chicken, although squid is popular too. The "3 Cup" name is not to be taken literally as "a cup as a measurement," because it simply refers to the 3 liquid parts: sesame oil, rice wine, soy sauce."

You can buy squid cut into rings, or you can buy the cleaned "tubes" and cut them into rings or pieces yourself, and yes, you can buy some tentacles too, although I didn't buy any tentacles when I made the dish for the pictures in this article, even though I have used them in the past, and I used "tentacle" for the "Word History," see below.

 

If you choose to use "kecap (aka, ketjap) manis," it is a thick Indonesian soy sauce that is syrupy and sweet compared to the more commonly found soy sauces. Some supermarkets have it, but many Asian markets have it. My experience has been that it comes in taller bottles than what I'll call "regular" soy sauces. (Note: If you don't want to use kecap manis, you can mix regular soy sauce with sugar, which is what I did, even though I keep kecap manis on hand; see in the recipe). Shaoxing wine is a type of fermented rice wine made with yeast, and it is in some supermarkets and Asian grocery stores, but you can use other rice wine, like sake or mirin, but NOT rice vinegar. (Note: Mirin can be pretty sweet, so if you use mirin, skip using kecap manis, and use 2 1/2 tablespoons regular soy sauce with just 1 teaspoon, not tablespoon, of sugar mixed with it.) 

Serve with rice ...

 

Ingredients:  

12 to 16 ounces cut up squid

2 inch piece ginger, peeled and very thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic,chopped

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar (or just use kecap manis and no sugar for this)

2 tablespoons rice wine (shaoxing, sake or mirin, but see note above about using mirin)

1 red or green chili, chopped (seeded if you prefer less heat)

1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with same amount of water

1/4 cup basil leaves (preferably Thai)

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil for frying

 

Have your ingredients ready to go before you start, as this dish doesn't take long to cook. Heat the vegetable or peanut oil in a skillet (or wok) over medium high heat, add the ginger and garlic, saute for 30 seconds, add the sesame oil and then, about 30 seconds later, the squid. Keep stirring the ingredients as they cook. After 1 minute, add the soy sauce, rice wine and the chopped chili, stirring continuously for another 1 minute. Add the cornstarch and water mixture, stir well, then add the basil and stir everything thoroughly for about 30 seconds, remove from heat and serve.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Tentacle-This word is related to "tender" (the verb form meaning "to hold out something to someone;" thus also, "to offer, to present to someone"), to "tend" (verb with the original meaning "to tilt toward a particular direction;" thus figuratively, "to have a preference toward something;" as in, "In winter, I tend to eat a lot of soup"), both Latin-derived words borrowed by English via French, and to the other verb "tend" (actually a shortened form of "attend," and meaning, "to give care or attention to someone or something"), another Latin-derived word, borrowed from French, but with Latin reinforcement, and to "tendon" (sinew, or connective band of tissue) a word borrowed from Latin (likely with some French reinforcement), which had it from Greek. "Tentacle" goes back to Indo European "ten," which had the notion "to stretch, to extend out, to draw out." This gave Latin "tendare," meaning, "to stretch out, to extend;" thus also, "to strive," "to go in a particular direction." This later gave Latin the noun "tentaculum," meaning "feeler, tentacle, hair-like fibers on some plants (carnivorous) that detect insects for consumption." English formed "tentacle" from the Latin word in the mid 1700s meaning, "long, highly flexible limb of some creatures, especially applied to squid and octopus."    

Venetian Seafood Soup/Stew

Some call the general recipe for this dish a "soup," while others use the word "stew." Fish and seafood are generally not cheap, so this is a rather costly dish to make, or if you're visiting Venice, it will likely cost you a "pretty euro" in a Venetian restaurant, but give yourself a treat, if possible, and make it at home. It is not all that common in the U.S. to leave shells on shrimp in soups or stews, but it IS common in many other cultures; so, use your own preference.

 

Ingredients (3 to 4 servings):

 

1 cup carrot, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/3 cup fennel, chopped

5 whole cloves of garlic, crushed

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound cod or pollock, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 pound tilapia or haddock, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 pound squid rings (you can include cut up tentacles)

8 large shrimp, heads and shells removed (or you can leave the shells on)

3 1/2 cups clam juice or seafood stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup parsley, chopped 

rustic bread, thickly sliced, lightly toasted

garlic for seasoning the bread

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling over the bread

 

In a pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the chopped carrot, onion and fennel. Saute for about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and saute a further 2 minutes. Add the bay leaf and red pepper flakes, then pour in the clam juice or seafood stock. Bring everything to a simmer and adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Add the squid rings and cover the pot. After 20 minutes, add the white wine, cover the pot again and let it simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the squid pieces are tender. Add the black pepper and all of the fish pieces and the shrimp and cook until the fish pieces and shrimp are tender, add the salt and chopped parsley and stir. Lightly toast the bread and then rub each slice with some garlic. Place a bread slice into each bowl and drizzle each with olive oil. Put a couple ladles of the soup/stew into each bowl.    

You can even see some of the steam rising from the bowl. The small white pieces are fish, or in some cases, squid.

WORD HISTORY:

Spumoni-This word for a type of Italian ice cream is distantly related to "foam," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and to "pumice," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French (likely primarily Anglo-French). It goes back to the Indo European root "(s)poih-," seemingly meaning "froth, foam." This gave Latin "spuma," with the same meaning, which passed to Italian in the same form, which later produced "spumone" (ice cream type; creamy, foamy dessert) and its plural form "spumoni." English borrowed the word (plural form generally used as singular) in the mid 1920s with the meaning of "ice cream with layers of different fruit and nut ice creams." 

Spanish Squid Sandwich of Madrid: Bocadillo de Calamares

In Madrid this is a famous sandwich, which is interesting, seeing that Madrid is in the middle of the country, not near the sea. They tend not to use lots of fancy toppings on this squid sandwich in Madrid, rather just a little lemon juice, and some people don't even add that. In Zaragoza, in northeastern Spain, squid sandwiches are topped with a spicy tomato sauce, called "salsa brava," and "aioli," a garlic mayonnaise. Cold beer is the common beverage to accompany a "Bocadillo de Calamares" in Spain.   

You can use sub sandwich rolls (also called hoagie rolls) or small baguettes. If you want to be authentic, the roll or baguette should not be cut completely through, so that it forms a hinged roll, similar to an American hotdog bun. If you're located near sources of squid, you can likely get squid in various sizes, then clean them and cut them to your own preference; otherwise, it's more likely that you will find frozen cleaned squid in packages at your supermarket or seafood shop. All you need do is thaw them, rinse them and slice them. This is an extremely easy sandwich to prepare. By the way, the people of Madrid are known in Spanish as "Madrileños."    

Ingredients:

squid rings (1/2 inch to 1 inch)
flour
salt
olive oil (enough to give about 2/3 inch in the skillet/pan)
sub rolls/hoagie rolls, or small baguettes, split on one side only
lemon wedge

Heat the oil in a pan or skillet. Salt the squid, put the flour into a storage container with a lid or into a sealable plastic bag and then add the squid. Snap on the lid of the container or seal the bag and shake the container or the bag until the squid are coated with the flour. Shake excess flour from the squid and then add the squid to the hot oil. Fry until the squid are lightly browned, then remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Of course if you have a deep fryer, you can fry the squid that way. Put a generous amount of squid into each split roll. Add a squeeze or two of lemon juice if desired.  

A squid sandwich ("Bocadillo de Calamares") on a split baguette...

WORD HISTORY:
Calamari-This word is distantly related, through Indo European, to English "halm" (also spelled "haulm"), a word from the Germanic roots of English and meaning, "a plant stalk," also, "a straw;" that is, "dried plant stalk used for animal fodder or bedding." It goes back to Indo European "kolehmos," which meant "reed;" thus also, "shaft, firm straw." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "kálamos," meaning, "reed, hollow stalk;" thus also, "arrow, writing pen, measuring stick." This was borrowed by Latin as "calamus," meaning, "reed, plant stalk, writing pen," which produced the Latin adjective "calamarius," meaning, "of or about a writing pen." This passed into Italian as "calamaro," meaning, "a squid" (for its tubular, pen like shape and its ink), with "calamari" as the plural. The plural form was borrowed by English in the second half of the 1500s.