The gifts of the seas and oceans have long since confidently entered our lives and have occupied a special place in our menu. Frankly speaking, more often they still appear on the festive table, however, probably no family can do without marine animals nowadays. Many fans of diversity in food also have their own “suffering” recipes for making frozen squids, mussels, or, say, octopuses. But some people come across them for the first time, and for such - our article.
Clean correctly
Let's start with how exactly the ocean inhabitants get onto our table. Since not all cities and towns are surrounded by salt waters, the gifts of the oceans are delivered to us, naturally, in ice cream, otherwise they would not have reached us. It is worth considering that when buying the same squids, you need to pay attention to their preliminary preparation. If they are already cut, you are spared some extra work. If not, you must clean them before preparing frozen squids. First of all, peel is removed from these marine animals . Then lateral growths similar to wings are cut off, which also need to be cleaned. Transparent "inserts" from chitin are extracted from the inside of the carcass - and your squid is ready for further manipulations.
Cook correctly
Most recipes that describe how to cook frozen squid (for salad in particular) require boiled carcasses. And here the recommendations vary. For example, many people think that the product does not even need to be thawed - just dip it in salted boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. Readiness is determined by the white color that the squid acquires.
Other chefs advise, before preparing frozen squids, to defrost them nevertheless, and in vivo, without resorting to hot water or a microwave. Then a whitish film of carcasses is cleaned under water and they are sent to boiling water at the same time. And there is another opinion: the prepared product is dipped in boiling water, closed with a lid and immediately turn off the fire. Moreover, in a sealed container, squids are left under the lid for about ten minutes. It is believed that in this case, gradually cooling water at the same time prevents them from being digested and brings them to the desired condition. So you have to choose how to cook frozen squid. You can try all three cooking methods and decide which one suits you best.
We fry right
Interesting and varied are the ways to cook frozen squid carcasses by roasting. There is also debate about whether they need to be thawed beforehand. However, most authors are still inclined to what is needed. But there are no arguments about the methods: everyone is inclined to believe that the fire should be medium, the lid on the pan is removed, and the frying time is five minutes. If you bought not whole animals, but their rings, then the duration of frying is reduced to 3-4 minutes (depending on the thickness of the pieces).
Sea inhabitants in salads
If you know how to cook frozen squids correctly and follow these rules correctly, you can build an abyss of delicious dishes. Salads with their “participation” are the most common. And no wonder: these animals are combined with many products to taste and give the final dish piquancy and sophistication. One of the most noteworthy options is with crab sticks. A half pound of squid will go 240 g sticks and 300 g low-fat and non-rigid ham. Cooked squid and sausage should be chopped into strips, and the crab component with cubes. Dress with salt, mayonnaise and pepper - you get, consider, a smart dish. And if you replace the sticks with natural crabs, it will be much more expensive, but also much tastier.
There is another interesting way how to cook frozen squid fillet and salad from it. A quarter of a kilogram of base will require “in company” three eggs, two sour apples, 50 g of cheese, onion and mayonnaise for dressing. Eggs and peeled apples are rubbed (medium, not small and not large), the onion is cut into half rings, squid into cubes. Everything is mixed, spilled with mayonnaise, and sprinkled with grated cheese. Tasty, juicy and beautiful!
Unusual and tasty
There are ideas about how to cook peeled frozen squid as a main dish - instead of meat or poultry. We presume that 300 g of the oceans are produced per serving. Then they should be joined by half a glass of orange juice (preferably squeezed on their own), soy sauce (preferably classic, without additional flavors), butter and olive oil, lettuce and leeks. Carcasses are cut into pieces convenient for you personally and fried in a mixture of oils. Remember: this should not be done for long! After the allotted time, sauce and juice are poured into the pan, leek is added with rings and the contents of the dish are stewed for about ten minutes. Then everything is laid out on lettuce leaves - and bon appetit! If you want a side dish - rice will be just right.
And you can stuff
No less curious is the way how to deliciously cook frozen squids by stuffing. The main thing here is that when cleaning the carcasses they should not be damaged. Then they are boiled - as you like. A pair of onions is finely chopped, a large carrot is rubbed, and they are fried together. Crumbled pickled mushrooms (100 g) and three chopped eggs are added to the vegetables. All components are mixed, flavored with mayonnaise, pepper and salt. This amount of filling is enough for 8-10 marine inhabitants. The resulting mixture runs into squid carcasses, the edges can be chopped off with toothpicks - and ask the guests to the table.
Grilled squid
Pork, lamb or beef is usually cooked over an open fire. Less often, a bird or fish goes to the grill. But if you know how to prepare seafood for the process, you can also successfully bake them. For squid you need to make a special marinade, which includes vegetable oil (give preference to olive), two cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of ground paprika, a little sea salt and a few sprigs of thyme. All this is mixed, the squids themselves are cleaned, washed and dried, then coated with marinade, put in a plastic bag or wrapped in cling film and stored for pickling for at least half an hour. If you continue to cook carcasses over an open fire, we recommend using a grill, and pre-grease it with vegetable oil. If home cooking is expected, bake them in the oven for 10 minutes on each side. When serving squids, it is worth sprinkling them with lemon juice and sprinkle with herbs.
Beer snack
Those who like a foamy drink do not neglect the sharp-salty accompanying additives. There may be crackers, thinly sliced smoked pork ears, and chips ... And there may be squids! It remains to prepare a pinch of cardamom and coriander, a tablespoon of oyster sauce and four - soya, 2 chili peppers (you like very hot, you can increase the number of peppers, but carefully so as not to overdo it) and the squid themselves - seven hundred grams. For marinade, a little oil is poured into a heated frying pan, in which spices are allowed. Squids, cut into small pieces, are poured with two sauces, sprinkled with toasted seasonings and marinated for half an hour in all of this. Then a deep frying pan is taken (ideally a wok), half a glass of vegetable oil is poured and the future snack is fried in batches. Please note, spices can peel off squid. If you notice this, change the oil to fresh - several times overcooked seasonings will give a slightly unpleasant aftertaste. Those who are not too lazy to make such an appetizer claim that there is no better accompaniment to beer.
Frankly speaking, this is far from all that can be “figured out” from such a fertile material. It remains only to point out a couple more tricks. Some do not like the fact that after cooking, squids seem to contract. To avoid this, you can either lightly beat off the carcasses on both sides, or use a very sharp knife to make shallow cuts - at the same time it will look more appetizing. And as a complement to any squid dish, lemon juice or garlic cream sauce will do.