Jiao Yan Xian You (Salt and Pepper Squid)
Not tempura! Flowering squid and "sansho salt" fried in crispy frying
Description
Unlike Japanese squid tempura, thick squid tubes are scored finely so they curl up, coated in a thin starch batter, and fried rock-hard. Then, they are tossed violently in a dry wok with 'garlic, chilies, and Jiao Yan (Sichuan pepper salt)' to create the ultimate bar snack.
Restaurants serving Jiao Yan Xian You (Salt and Pepper Squid)
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We are researching restaurants that serve this dish.
On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Squid tube
- Potato starch
- Garlic
- Raw red chili
- Scallion
- Sichuan pepper powder
- Salt
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe & Differences]
- (Scoring) Open a fresh squid tube. On the INSIDE, score it deeply in a fine crosshatch pattern (Mai Sui Hua Dao). Cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Marinate lightly with salt and wine. Dredge heavily in dry potato/corn starch. (Do not dip in wet tempura batter like in Japan).
- Drop into 180°C oil. Instantly, the cuts curl back, rolling the squid into 'pinecones (or tubes)'. Fry until crispy.
- (Seasoning - Jiao Yan) Heat a little oil in a wok. Fry massive minced garlic, raw red chilies, and scallions to explode the aroma.
- Return the fried squid to the wok.
- Heavily dust with 'Jiao Yan'—the magic spice blend of dry-roasted Sichuan pepper powder and salt. Toss violently on high heat to coat, and serve.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Numbing、roasted aroma of homemade 'Jiao Yan'(Pepper salt)
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Can be perfectly recreated with Japanese squid)
Pairing
Cold Beer (Absolutely mandatory) / Carbonated Drinks
Trivia
[Trivia] The 'Jiao Yan' flavor profile is a golden pattern in Cantonese cooking. Applied to pork ribs (Jiao Yan Pai Gu) or shrimp, it turns everything into an ultimate beer thief. Massively popular in the West as 'Salt and Pepper Squid'.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Experience the 'shattering crunch' of the starch coating and the 'bouncy snap' of the squid simultaneously. The punch of the scorched garlic and pepper-salt clinging to the batter is so intense that one piece makes half a glass of beer vanish.
Allergen
Squid