Dinner · 25 min · chinese

Salt and Pepper Squid

Squid tubes does the heavy lifting here, with cornstarch rounding it out. A Chinese dinner that takes 25 minutes, start to finish. It is weeknight cooking that still hits your targets — 6 grams of protein per serving. Leftovers keep well, so it doubles as next-day lunch without any extra work.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb Squid tubes
• 0.5 cup Cornstarch
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp White pepper
• 0.5 tsp Five-spice powder
• 2 Jalapenos
• 5 cloves Garlic
• 3 Scallions
• 0.5 cup Peanut oil

Steps

1. Score the squid tubes in a crosshatch on one side and cut into 2-inch pieces; they curl into pretty shapes when fried. Pat very dry.
2. Toss with cornstarch, salt, white pepper, and five-spice. The coating should be thin and even.
3. Fry in 375-degree oil 90 seconds — no longer. Squid goes from tender to rubber in under a minute, so work in batches and watch the clock.
4. Drain, then toss in a hot wok with the sliced jalapenos, garlic, and scallions 30 seconds until fragrant.
5. Serve immediately with extra white pepper at the table. Crisp, peppery, and dangerously easy to inhale.

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