Today squid is a fairly popular and widespread product that can easily be found on the shelves of supermarkets, fish shops and even ordinary markets. His price is quite pleasing, quite affordable even in a crisis. And just how much can be prepared from this product is simply not countable.
Squid is perfect even for a daily diet. But most squid recipes relate to festive cuisine.
Product Features
Many are concerned not only with taste issues, but also with the quality of the product. Before you start cooking, it will be useful to find out about the features of the product: nutritional value, calorie calories, nutrients. The benefit of any seafood is primarily in the content of valuable substances. Squid contains iodine, selenium, phosphorus, iron, copper. As with many seafood, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are present. A lot of these mollusks and vitamins of groups B, C, E, PP.
But the main value, perhaps, lies in the high content of protein, which is almost completely absorbed by the body. Squid meat has 20% protein, only 2.2% fat and 2% carbohydrates. Calorie content of the product is 122 kcal.
Squids in the cuisines of the world
It’s easy to guess which nations love this product the most. Of course, those who live by the sea-ocean. The national cuisines of the countries of the Far East are simply inconceivable without such products as squid with shrimps, mussels, octopuses. Seafood and Mediterranean cuisine are common .
Squids are also loved by those who live far from big water. And all because this product is perfectly stored and transported frozen, and does not lose its taste.
Product varieties
Squids are invertebrate animals that belong to the class of cephalopods (order Ten-armed). In the world there are many varieties of squid.
In the network of Russian fishermen, the Komandorsky squid is most often caught - a medium-sized mollusk (about 20-30 cm with tentacles). It usually has a grayish-pink skin color and delicate white meat. On sale, he usually goes without a head and tentacles.
Loligo is a species very popular in Europe. It looks like the Commander squid, and they catch it not only in the ocean, but also in the seas - the Mediterranean and Adriatic.
The Pacific Squid is found in the Far East; it is precisely it that is most often used by Japanese and Chinese to prepare amazing dishes.
There are snowy meaty carcasses of Peruvian squid on the shelves. To many, they seem much more attractive than other species. But the Peruvian squid has a peculiar feature - without proper processing, the meat is simply full of ammonia smell. The catch is bought by China, where carcasses are cleaned, frozen, soaked in a special brine, and then frozen again. Admittedly, after such a treatment there is no trace of a terrible smell, and the taste of the product is rather delicate.
These are the main types of squid, which are represented almost everywhere. But there is another category of product, which many take for a separate look. This is the so-called baby squid. The size of the carcass does not exceed a chicken egg, and in a kilogram you can count a dozen and a half babies (while a full-fledged squid can weigh more than one kilo). But this is not a subspecies at all, but young growth, which in its natural habitat often rises to the surface and enters the network of fishermen. Baby has a delicate taste and less dense meat structure. It can be used in the same recipes as regular squids.
Product Compatibility
Squids are used to prepare a wide variety of dishes: appetizers, salads, gravy, sauces. Boiled rice, pasta, funchose and homemade noodles are ideal for them as a side dish.
Squids are harmoniously combined with fresh and baked vegetables, boiled eggs and omelettes, pickled mushrooms, olives, young herbs, sea kale. There are a huge number of recipes in which cuttlefish, shrimp, fish, caviar are used along with squids - in short, everything that the sea has presented to a person.
Decorative properties
Squid tentacles usually remain in the importing country, but sometimes a “full set” is also on sale. It is worth recognizing that in taste and structure they are far from as interesting as octopuses, which is why many fish harvesters immediately separate them. But, as they say, in lack of fish ...
Not so often in our country you can see a dish decorated with tentacles. Therefore, you can safely use this detail for decorative purposes. Usually tentacles are cut into strips or cubes and spread on top of the dish. They are cooked just like a carcass.
Preliminary cutting
As we have already found out, squids are invertebrate animals. But inside their body contains a kind of "stiffening ribs", which are the rudiment of the inner shell. They look like translucent knitting needles. Before cooking, they must be removed.
If you bought a whole unpeeled squid, cut off your head with eyes and tentacles. Take out the insides. Eyes and mouth-beak are not eaten. Cut the tentacles off the base.
If the carcasses are covered with skin, scald them with boiling water, and then dip them in cold water - everything will be easily removed.
How to cook squid?
Many people know, but we still recall: these clams are boiled very quickly! Load the carcasses in boiling water and detect exactly 2 minutes. As soon as the dial hand reaches the second circle, remove and cool.
The structure of the digested squid resembles low-quality rubber, and not at all a Mediterranean or Far Eastern delicacy.
Neptune Salad
Sliced boiled squid is an excellent option for many salads.
But the most popular, perhaps, can be called Neptune salad. This is just a win-win option. For its preparation, 1-2 types of fresh vegetables and seafood are used. As a vegetable base, you can use Peking cabbage, red onion, bell pepper, wild leek, spinach, cucumbers. The “marine” part should be as much in volume as the vegetable. For her, boiled shrimp, mussels and squid, crab sticks, caviar, anchovies are suitable. Typically, such salads are seasoned with mayonnaise, but you can cook a more healthy and tasty dressing. Mix 2 tbsp. l natural yogurt without flavoring, the same amount of low-fat mayonnaise, add finely chopped dill greens (1-2 tsp) and a few drops of lemon juice.
Is it possible to bake squid in the oven?
Not so long ago, the recipe for "piglets" made from stuffed squid carcasses gained popularity. For this recipe, baby squid is just perfect, because before serving you will not even have to cut the dish into portions.
As minced meat use cheese, cottage cheese, mushrooms, rice or mashed potatoes. You can prepare the dish in the following way.
Cut the onion into small pieces, and grate a couple of carrots on a fine grater. Stew the vegetables together, pour 100 g of mushrooms, bring to readiness. Mix with boiled rice (1 cup). If desired, you can add 2-3 boiled eggs, finely chopped.
8-10 carcasses clean, rinse, cut the tails. Start with rice-vegetable mixture and lay on the deco. Make ears and noses from the scraps of the tail, and with the help of cloves or peppercorns, shape the eyes. Lubricate the “piglets” with mayonnaise and send to bake for a quarter of an hour. Stuffed squid is a very beautiful and tasty dish.
Fried squid rings
This appetizer is a great option for gatherings with friends. It is perfect with beer or white wine. But most importantly, you will spend quite a bit of time and effort to prepare such a treat. Squids are tasty and easy to prepare, only you need to know some of the nuances.
Cut the carcass into rings. Dip each ring first in flour, then in a raw egg, and then in crackers. Fry in heated oil for 1.5 minutes on each side. You can also use the deep fryer.
Pickling
Do you know what squid is in Korean? This appetizer is popular all over the world, and it is very easy to make it.
Rub on a Korean grater 100 g of carrots, salt with sea salt and let stand. Cut the onions in half rings, fry in oil and cool. Cut boiled squid (600 g) into rings, mix with vegetables, add 40 ml of soy sauce. If you like spicy, spice up a couple of hot pepper rings and a clove of garlic. The dish should be infused for at least 12 hours.
How to cook caviar
In some carcasses, caviar comes across, and even in a rather substantial amount. Do not rush to treat her cat! Squid caviar can be salted, like fish, or boiled and also added to the salad.
Not for the faint of heart: Dancing Squid
Have you ever been to Japan? If this is your first time going there, be careful at local restaurants. For example, Dancing Squids is a favorite dish of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, but it can shock a unaccustomed person. It's all about the squid stump (head, eyes and tentacles), seated on top of the dish. The cook directly at guests pours his sauce, which is why the squid begins to “dance”. After dancing, the mollusk simply cut off pieces and eat.
In fact, the squid during the "dance" is not alive, the tentacles move only due to chemical reactions. But not everyone likes this sight. Yes, and raw tentacles, too.
Squids in the children's and diet menus
Many mothers are concerned about the question of when to introduce the baby to healthy seafood. Nutritionists agree that although squid is an easily digestible product, it is advisable to introduce it into the diet after three years.
Calorie calories, properties, high content of nutrients attract athletes. For those who are undergoing training in gaining muscle mass, this protein-rich product is simply irreplaceable.
Squids are also excellent for the diet of recovering patients who underwent surgery, long courses of medication, and long-term illnesses. This product helps to restore strength, renews blood, fights toxins. And its great taste cannot but rejoice.