Usually we feature recipes that we have yet to try and we let you, the reader, journey through the process with us. But today is a different story. Today we have a recipe that we actually had the pleasure of trying — we even have pictures! Thanks to We Are Never Full, we’re on a Thai kick this week.
Crispy Thai Calamari Salad.↓
NaShish Scott/Quiet Lunch Magazine.
Ingredients.↓
• 1 pound calamari, with tentacles
• 1 1/2 cups flour mixed with pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper
• 3 cups of shredded napa or savoy cabbage
• a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/4 raw red onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup of pickled shredded carrot (8 oz carrots, grated + 1 cup water + 1 cup rice or white wine vinegar + 1/4 cup sugar)
• fresh cilantro
• sliced scallions
• oil for frying
• 1 cup of Thai sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce (or less/more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
Directions.↓
Make your pickled carrots by first gently heating the vinegar, water and sugar until sugar has completely dissolved into the water/vinegar mixture.
In a bowl or mason jar, add shredded carrots and top with water/sugar/vinegar mixture.
Toss or shake and set aside.
Make salad “dressing” by mixing thai sweet chili sauce with fish sauce and lime juice. Set aside.
Heat the oil until hot enough to fry.
Slice calamari bodies into 1 inch rings. Dry these and the tentacles with a towel. Toss the calamari in the seasoned flour mixture. Shake excess flour off the calamari and fry in the oil until brown (about 1 minute).
Remove with slotted spoon or spider and allow to drain on some paper towels.
Sprinkle with salt.
Arrange your salad:
Cabbage on the bottom tossed with a bit of lime juice and olive oil to moisten a bit (optional), then topped with tomatoes, onions, pickled carrots, scallions, cilantro and crunchy calamari. Drizzle with the thai chili “sauce” and serve with some lime wedges. Enjoy!
Divvy Up.↓
Serves 2 as a main dish.
NaShish Scott/Quiet Lunch Magazine.
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