Salt and Pepper Squid

Use 500 g cleaned squid, with the innards, clear quill, eyes and beak removed. Cut the tubes into 1 cm rings and the tentacles into bite-sized clusters. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.

Toss the squid with 1 tbsp cooking wine, 3 ginger slices, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp white pepper. Marinate in the fridge for 10 minutes while completing step 3.

Dice 1/4 each of a green bell pepper, red bell pepper and onion into 5 mm pieces. Mince 4 garlic cloves and slice 1 spring onion, keeping the whites and greens separate. Mix 1/2 tsp pre-toasted ground Sichuan pepper with the remaining 1/4 tsp white pepper and 1/2 tsp salt.

Discard the ginger and marinade, then pat away surface moisture. Put 75 g cornstarch in a shallow bowl. Lightly coat one small batch of squid at a time, shake off excess and fry promptly. Discard any leftover starch that has touched raw squid.

Heat about 4 cm of neutral oil in a deep pan to 180°C, filling the pan no more than one-third full. Lower in small batches and separate the pieces. Fry for about 1½–2 minutes, until the light crust is crisp and pale golden and the squid is opaque. Drain on a rack. Return the oil to 180°C between batches; do not chase a dark crust by prolonged frying.

In a clean wok, heat 15 ml oil over medium heat. Stir-fry the garlic and spring onion whites for about 20 seconds until fragrant, without browning deeply. Raise to medium-high, add all the diced peppers and onion and stir-fry for 45–60 seconds, until bright and just softened at the edges, with no pooled liquid.

Return all the fried squid to the wok, scatter in all the pepper salt from step 3 and toss for about 15 seconds, just until evenly seasoned. Turn off the heat, fold in all the spring onion greens and serve immediately. Do not add liquid seasonings to the wok.