Calamari Special

"This is one of the nicest and best tasting calamari recipes that I have eaten. I find that the calamari is not tough as I have experienced in many restaurants. A friend Chef and I developed this marvelous recipe that is so easy to prepare."
 
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photo by Chef floWer photo by Chef floWer
photo by Chef floWer
photo by Chef floWer photo by Chef floWer
Ready In:
25mins
Ingredients:
7
Serves:
4
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ingredients

  • 12 lb frozen calamari or 1/2 lb fresh calamari
  • 12 cup whole milk, homogenized
  • 14 cup all-purpose flour
  • 14 cup japanese panko breadcrumbs or 1/4 cup regular fine dry breadcrumb
  • 12 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (red hot pepper flakes sauce)
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directions

  • Firstly, prepare a deep-fryer with a good vegetable oil and heat to 375 degrees F, or use a medium size deep frying pan on high heat.
  • Defrost calamari and rinse under cold running water.
  • Cut calamari into 1/4 inch strips. If using fresh calamari, just cut into 1/4 inch strips. Pat dry calamari with paper towels.
  • In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together flour and Panko bread crumbs.
  • Add milk to a bowl and dip calamari in the milk.
  • Toss calamari strips in flour/crumb mixture just to coat. You do not want to have a heavy coating as it could drop off when frying.
  • Flash fry coated calamari in prepared deep-fryer or frying pan for about 15 seconds, deep frying in small amounts.
  • In a frying pan, heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to medium-high heat.
  • Add garlic and Sambal Oelek and stir well, cover with a screen to prevent oil from spattering or splashing.
  • Sauté flash-fried calamari for about 1 minute or until nicely light brown. Do not over fry as it could get chewy.
  • Serve calamari with your favorite dip.

Questions & Replies

  1. FOR U OLD TIMERS ONLY! PICALOS REST' COLINS AND 5TH MIAMI BCH IN THE 70'S. ANYONE REMEMBER IT?
     
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Reviews

  1. This recipe guided my first attempt at home-made calamari. I made several alterations, but I thought that one observation was important enough to share. I used fresh calamari, and like others, found that the breading stuck, but was rather fragile and easy to knock off while frying. I would try the milk bath next time. I don't have a deep fryer any more, so I just increased the cooking time in the frying pan by about 30 seconds-1 minute. This yeilded nice golden brown breading. A note of warning- do to the heat of the oil, I would wait to add the chili paste and garlic till the last say, 30 seconds of frying. Also, I very much recommend using a splatter guard, as the oil goes crazy when you add the chili paste. An excellent recipe, I look forward to trying this one again. Thanks!
     
  2. I was pleasantly surprised. Made this as written except for hot sauce didn't have any. It was so quick and easy and delicious. I used frozen calamari and had no problems. Now my hubbie can stop ordering it in restaurants and paying a lot for it.
     
  3. Awesome recipe. Alot of the breadcrumbs fell off though - I would try the egg substitution next time, or a combination of the two. I used regular breadcrumbs and red pepper flakes. Came out really good and completely disappeard!
     
  4. Tried this recipe but substituted egg for the milk only because I had a similar experience with chicken wings where the breading stuck to the pan. After reading highplainsdrifter review made this adjustment and it came out fine. Everyone loved it . . . will make this again in the future.
     
  5. This is just the recipe I have been looking for. It's wonderful. We didn't use the red hot pepper flakes because of the kids. We made Recipe #49186 to dip in (marmalade sauce). Thank you!! 5+ stars
     
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Tweaks

  1. Tried this recipe but substituted egg for the milk only because I had a similar experience with chicken wings where the breading stuck to the pan. After reading highplainsdrifter review made this adjustment and it came out fine. Everyone loved it . . . will make this again in the future.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I live in Burnaby, British Columbia. I am retired and have written a cookbook entitled, From Uncle Bill's Kitchen. I am a recipe developer, author, publisher, distributor and a chef. My cookbook is very unique as I have a Nutrient Analysis for each ingredient used in each recipe that shows you the values for Calories, Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. A high-lighted bar shows the values on a per serving basis plus the Fat/Cal%. From Uncle Bill's Kitchen contains tried-and-true, tested, easy to follow reipes for both novice and experienced cooks. You'll find old Russian, Ukrainian, and other ethnic favorites, along with modern West Coast dishes. The Nutrient Analysis will please the health conscious. Uncle Bill's favorite recipes will reward efforts of the most creative cook and provide the family with many tantalizing, healthful meals. I have appeared on 48 various Television Shows in Vancouver, Burnaby, Kelowna and Kamploops, B.C. Canada, as well as in Palm Springs, CA. In Palm Springs, CA, I have been a Guest on the JACKIE OLDEN RADIO SHOW and THE JOEY ENGLISH RADIO SHOW, twice a year since 1998. I also do demo cooking shows at CHAPTERS BOOK STORES, SAVE-ON-FOOD STORES, GALLOWAY'S FOODS, WESTMINSTER PUBLIC QUAY MARKET, and in the U.S. at BARNES & NOBLE BOOKSTORES in Palm Springs, CA, Phoenix and Yuma, AZ. I was in Palm Springs, CA from June 10th to July 14th. 2002 and again appeared twice on the Jackie Olden Show, twice on the Joey English Show and pre-taped a TV COOKING SHOW with Jackie Olden that is aired on TV from Palm Springs, CA to Los Angeles, CA.
 
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