squid vegetable stir–fry

Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 10 minutes 1 tablespoon groundnut oil 2 teaspoons sesame oil 2 leeks, trimmed, cleaned and very thinly sliced 2 celery sticks, very thinly sliced 1 carrot, cut into thin matchsticks 1 red pepper, deseeded and very thinly sliced 100 g pak choi, roughly chopped 400 g cleaned squid, cut into thick rings 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder 4 tablespoons light soy sauce 2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine tablespoons sweet chilli sauce salt and pepper Heat the oils in a large nonstick wok or frying pan over a high heat. Add the leeks, celery, carrot and red pepper and stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes until softened.

Add the pak choi, squid and five-spice powder to pan and stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes until the squid is just cooked through, being careful not to overcook otherwise it will turn rubbery.

Stir in the soy sauce, rice wine and sweet chilli sauce, season with salt and pepper and heat through, stirring. Serve with cooked rice or noodles.

For griddled five-spice squid, place 750 g cleaned squid on a clean work surface, make a cut down one side of each body tube and open out. Using a sharp knife, lightly score the inside of the flesh in a crisscross pattern to help tenderize it, then cut into bite-sized pieces, along with the tentacles. Mix together the juice of 1 lime, 1 tablespoon light olive oil, 1 finely chopped red chilli and 2 teaspoons each of grated garlic and peeled fresh root ginger and Chinese five-spice powder in a small bowl. Rub into the squid in a shallow glass or ceramic dish, cover and leave to marinate at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Heat a nonstick ridged griddle pan until smoking hot. Remove the squid from the marinade, add to the pan, in batches, and cook on each side for no more than 2 minutes, pushing the squid down with the back of a fish slice. Serve hot.

qingquang

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