Squid - what is it? Cooking features, best recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Today, squid is a fairly popular and common product that can be easily found on the shelves of supermarkets, fish stores and even ordinary markets. Pleased with its price, quite affordable even in times of crisis. And how much can be cooked from this product - just do not count.

Squid is perfect even for a daily diet. But most squid recipes are holiday cuisine.

Product Features

Many people are concerned not only with questions of taste, but also with the quality of the product. Before you start cooking, it would be useful to find out about the features of the product: nutritional value, calorie content of squid, useful substances. The benefits of any seafood primarily lies in the content of valuable substances. The squid contains iodine, selenium, phosphorus, iron, copper. As with many seafood, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are present. A lot of these shellfish and vitamins B, C, E, PP.

But the main value, perhaps, lies in the high content of protein, which is almost completely absorbed by the body. Squid meat contains 20% protein, only 2.2% fat and 2% carbohydrates. Calorie content of the product - 122 kcal.

Squid in the cuisines of the peoples of the world

It's easy to guess which nations love this product the most. Of course, those who live by the sea-ocean. The national cuisines of the countries of the Far East are simply unthinkable without such products as squid with shrimps, mussels, octopuses. Seafood dishes are also common in Mediterranean cuisine.

Squids are also loved by those who live far from big water. And all because this product is perfectly stored and transported in a frozen form, and it does not lose its taste.

Product varieties

Squids are invertebrate animals that belong to the class of cephalopods (Ten-armed order). There are many varieties of squid in the world.

Commander squid, a medium-sized mollusk (about 20-30 cm with tentacles), most often gets into the net of Russian fishermen. It usually has a grayish-pink skin color and tender white meat. It usually goes on sale without a head and tentacles.

Loligo is a species very popular in Europe. It looks like the Commander squid, and it is caught not only in the ocean, but also in the seas - the Mediterranean and the Adriatic.

The Pacific squid is found in the Far East, it is it that the Japanese and Chinese most often use to prepare amazing dishes.

There are snow-white fleshy carcasses of the Peruvian squid on the shelves. To many, they seem much more attractive than other species. But the Peruvian squid has a peculiar feature - without dueProcessing meat simply reeks of ammonia smell. The catch is bought by China, where the carcasses are cleaned, frozen, soaked in a special brine, and then frozen again. Admittedly, after such processing, there is no trace of a terrible smell, and the taste of the product is quite delicate.

These are the main types of squid, which are represented almost everywhere. But there is another product category that many mistake for a separate species. This is the so-called baby squid. The size of the carcass does not exceed a chicken egg, and in a kilogram you can count a dozen and a half babies (while a full-fledged squid can weigh more than one kilo). But this is not a subspecies at all, but young animals, which in their natural habitat often rise to the surface and fall into the nets of fishermen. Baby has a delicate taste and a less dense meat structure. It can be used in the same recipes as regular squid.

Product Matching

Squid is used to prepare a variety of dishes: appetizers, salads, gravies, sauces. As a side dish, boiled rice, pasta, funchose and homemade noodles are ideal for them.

Squids are harmoniously combined with fresh and baked vegetables, boiled eggs and scrambled eggs, pickled mushrooms, olives, young greens, sea kale. There are a huge number of recipes in which, along with squid, cuttlefish, shrimp, fish, caviar are used - in a word, everything that the sea has given to man.

Decorative properties

Squid tentacles usually stay in the country-importer, but sometimes a “complete set” is also found on sale. It is worth recognizing that they are far from being as interesting in taste and structure as octopuses, which is why many fish producers separate them immediately. But, as they say, without fish…

It is not so often in our country you can see a dish decorated with tentacles. Therefore, you can safely use this part for decorative purposes. Usually, the tentacles are cut into strips or cubes and laid out on top of the dish. They are prepared in the same way as a carcass.

Pre-cut

As we have already found out, squids are invertebrates. But inside their body there are peculiar “stiffening ribs”, which are a vestige of the inner shell. They look like translucent knitting needles. Remove them before cooking.

If you bought a whole unpeeled squid, cut off the head with eyes and tentacles. Take out the insides. The eyes and mouth-beak are not eaten. Cut the tentacles off the base.

If the carcasses are covered with skin, scald them with boiling water, and then dip in cold water - everything will be easily removed.

How to cook squid?

Many people know, but we still remind you: these clams cook very quickly! Load the carcasses in boiling water and detect exactly 2 minutes. Once the dial hand reaches the second circle, remove and refrigerate.

The structure of overcooked squid resembles low-quality rubber, not a Mediterranean or Far Eastern delicacy at all.

Neptune Salad

Boiled squid, cut into pieces -great option for many salads.

But the most popular, perhaps, is the Neptune salad. It's just a win-win. For its preparation, 1-2 types of fresh vegetables and seafood are used. As a vegetable base, you can use Chinese cabbage, red onion, bell pepper, wild garlic, spinach, cucumbers. The “sea” part in volume should be the same as the vegetable part. Boiled shrimp, mussels and squid, crab sticks, caviar, anchovies are suitable for her. Typically, these salads are seasoned with mayonnaise, but you can cook a more he althy and tasty dressing. Mix 2 tbsp. l. unflavoured natural yogurt, the same amount of low-fat mayonnaise, finely chopped dill (1-2 tsp) and a few drops of lemon juice.

Can I bake squid in the oven?

Not so long ago, the recipe for "pigs" made from stuffed squid carcasses gained popularity. Baby squid is just perfect for this recipe, because before serving you don’t even have to cut the dish into portions.

Cheese, cottage cheese, mushrooms, rice or mashed potatoes are used as minced meat. You can cook the dish in the following way.

Cut the onion into small pieces, and grate a couple of carrots on a fine grater. Stew the vegetables together, add 100 g of mushrooms, bring to readiness. Mix with cooked rice (1 cup). If desired, you can add 2-3 boiled eggs, finely chopped.

8-10 carcasses clean, wash, cut tails. Stuff with rice and vegetable mixture and place ondeco. Make ears and noses from tail scraps, and use cloves or peppercorns to decorate the eyes. Lubricate the “pigs” with mayonnaise and send to bake for a quarter of an hour. Stuffed squid is a very beautiful and tasty dish.

Fried squid rings

This appetizer is a great option for gatherings with friends. It goes well with beer or white wine. But the most important thing is that you will spend quite a bit of time and effort to prepare such a treat. Squids are delicious and easy to prepare, you just need to know a few nuances.

Cut the carcasses into rings. Dip each ring first in flour, then in a raw egg, and then in breadcrumbs. Fry in hot oil for 1.5 minutes on each side. An air fryer can also be used.

Marinating

Do you know what Korean squid is? This appetizer is popular all over the world and is very easy to prepare.

Grate 100 g of carrots on a Korean grater, s alt with sea s alt and let stand. Cut the onion into half rings, fry in oil and cool. Boiled squid (600 g) cut into rings, mix with vegetables, add 40 ml of soy sauce. If you like spicy, spice up the dish with a couple of hot pepper rings and a clove of garlic. The dish should be infused for at least 12 hours.

How to cook caviar

In some carcasses, caviar comes across, and even in a fairly solid amount. Do not rush to treat her cat! Squid caviar can be s alted, like fish caviar, or boiled and also added to the salad.

Not for the faint of heart: The Dancing Squid

Have you ever been to Japan? If you are going there for the first time, be careful in local restaurants. For example, “Dancing Squids” is a favorite dish of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, but it can shock an unaccustomed person. It's all about the squid stump (head, eyes and tentacles) seated on top of the dish. The cook, right in front of the guests, pours sauce over it, which is why the squid begins to “dance”. After dancing, they simply cut off pieces from the mollusk and eat it.

In fact, the squid during the "dance" is not alive, the tentacles move only due to chemical reactions. But not everyone likes such a spectacle. And raw tentacles too.

Squids in the children's and diet menu

Many mothers are concerned about when to introduce their baby to he althy seafood. Nutritionists agree that although squid is an easily digestible product, it is advisable to introduce it into the diet after three years.

Calorie content of squid, properties, high content of nutrients attract athletes. For those on a muscle-building workout, this protein-rich product is a must.

Squids are also excellent for the diet of convalescent patients who have undergone surgery, long courses of medication, prolonged illness. This product helps to restore strength, renews the blood, fights toxins. And its great taste cannot but rejoice.