1. How to soak dried squid
Dried squid is also called "squid" and "hanging piece" in Guangdong and other places. The origin of this title is Because it is made by drying fresh squid, and it is often hung with strings during drying, the name "hanging piece" is naturally very vivid. There are two varieties of native squid: "oval" and "long". The former is made by drying "calamari", and the latter is made by drying "squid". The quality of the former is better; the dried squid is made of colored light. Bright white, thin body, uniform shape, translucent reddish meat, fresh and tender taste, dry body and proper fragrance are the best. Just keep the above points in mind when choosing. We all know that squid is generally divided into two types: fresh squid and dried squid (also known as hanging slices and tuyu).
At present, most of the squid sold on the market are fresh squid, and there are relatively few dried squids, and most of the dried squid have already been cooked. Comparing fresh squid and dried squid, in some cases, I still prefer the latter. For example, when making soup and stir-frying, dried squid will be much more fragrant than fresh squid. The only troublesome thing is that dried squid cannot be eaten directly, and it has to go through the process of swelling. Although there are already thickened dried squid on sale in the market, to be honest, if you like to eat dried squid, it is more practical to thicken it yourself at home.
Currently, there are two types of dried squid: "water-fat" and "alkali-fat". "Water-fat" refers to the method of soaking in warm water until soft, with the purpose of extracting the umami flavor of the squid itself. , the disadvantage is that the meat is relatively tough and firm, and it cannot be enjoyed by the elderly; and there are many methods of "alkali hair". In the past, quicklime was added to clean water, and the carbon dioxide generated by the lime was used to expand the fiber and absorb a large amount of water, but the proportion was difficult to control. So later I switched to food powder, food alkali, etc., and the effect was quite good.
The specific method is as follows:
First take a large basin and pour an appropriate amount of warm water. The water temperature should be 40 degrees. Add the dried squid and soak. Soak for about half a day.
Take out the soaked dried squid, pour out the water in the basin, and refill it with clean water. The water should be enough to cover the dried squid. At the same time, add Chencun Lao water, Chencun Lap water and clean water. The ratio is 20:1.
After 3 hours, touch the squid with your hands. The squid should have swelled and softened.
Take out the squid after it has swollen and rinse it repeatedly with running water to dealkalize it. I usually rinse it for about 10 minutes.
Finally, soak the squid that has risen in water, and then it can be processed and cooked.
Method 2
First of all, when buying dried squid, you must choose dried squid with a smooth appearance, hard meat, thick body, no mold spots, and bright luster.
When soaking, first soak the squid in cold water for 2 hours, take it out, and then soak it in 1:100 alkaline water for 8 to 12 hours. The dried squid can be thoroughly soaked.
Then take out the softened squid, rinse it with clean water, and squeeze it with your hands while washing until the squid is not greasy on the outside and has no odor.
The next step is to soak the squid in cold water and use it as needed.
If the squid is older, the concentration of alkaline water can be slightly increased. You can tell whether the squid is old by looking at its color. If the squid is light yellow and transparent, it is tender, and if it is purple and opaque, it is old. Generally, the foaming rate of squid is between 400% and 600%.
Method 3
(1) Oil hair: Use 10 grams of sesame oil for every 500 grams of dried squid, a little alkali, put it into water at the same time, and soak until it swells and softens.
(2) Alkali hair: Mix soda ash and cold water in a ratio of 1:2. After stirring, you will get a 5% soda ash solution. Depending on the age and tenderness of the squid, add 20 to 30%. Soak the dried squid in cold water for 3 hours, then take it out, put it in soda ash and soak it for another three hours, until it is swollen enough. Take it out, put it in cold water and rinse it repeatedly to remove the alkali smell, and then cook it.
2. How to eat dried squid Ingredients: one squid, three liang onions, one bell pepper, three liang white green onions, two small pieces of garlic, one piece of old ginger, six or seven dried chili peppers, One coffee spoon of Sichuan peppercorns, one tablespoon of hoisin sauce, one spoon of oyster sauce, one tablespoon of chili oil, two tablespoons of cooking wine, and an appropriate amount of salt.
Method:
Clean the squid and cut into rings; cut onions, bell peppers, and garlic into shreds; slice one-third of the ginger into slices, and cut the rest into shreds; dry chili peppers Cut into sections; cut green onions into inch-long sections.
Add cooking wine, seafood sauce, ginger slices, and appropriate amount of shredded onions to the squid rings, mix well and marinate for more than 20 minutes.
Put oil in a pot and heat it to 60% heat. Remove the ginger slices and onion shreds from the squid rings, sauté for about two minutes until cooked through, and set aside.
Wash the pot and put it on the fire, add a small amount of oil and heat it until it is 50% hot. Add the peppercorns, dried chili segments, ginger and garlic shreds in sequence, and stir-fry until fragrant.
Add the green onions, shredded onions, and shredded bell peppers and stir-fry for about a minute.
Add squid rings, oyster sauce, the other half of the seafood sauce, and oily chili pepper, stir well, then turn to high heat and add about half a cup of soup or water.
Bring to a boil, stir well, pour the squid rings into the dry pot and serve. Ingredients for squid casserole: dried squid, cooked chicken skin, mushrooms, water chestnuts, ham, pig's trotters, chicken broth, refined salt, cooking wine, ginger, green onions, pepper noodles.
Production process:
Put 2000 grams of water in the basin, 50 grams of quicklime, add dried squid and soak it for 12 hours. Stir twice during this period to make the squid swell evenly. Take it out and rinse it with clean water. Rinse;
Cut the cooked squid into thick strips four centimeters long and one centimeter wide, cut chicken skin, water chestnuts, mushrooms and ham into thin strips, wash and fluff the onion and ginger;
Blanch the hair on the toes of the pig with a hot iron, then soak it in warm water for half an hour, scrape off the burned skin and hair and wash them;
Put 1,000 grams of supernatant in a casserole Add onions, ginger, cooking wine and pig's trotters, bring to a boil and skim off the foam, then simmer over low heat for about 90 minutes to form a thick soup;
Put 250 grams of chicken stock in the pot and blanch the shredded squid. Once; take out the pig's trotters from the casserole, add chicken soup, shredded squid and various ingredients and simmer for half an hour until the soup is white and thick. Add salt and pepper to taste and it is done.
Ingredients for mushroom and squid soup: 50g of shiitake mushrooms, 100g of squid, 20g of minced shrimp and meat, 30g of winter bamboo shoots, refined salt, white sugar, rice wine, pepper, MSG, lard, wet starch, green onion Add appropriate amounts of sesame oil and sesame oil.
Method:
1. Wash the squid and cut it into diagonal cubes, blanch it in boiling water, remove and drain
2. Remove stems from shiitake mushrooms, wash and cut into slices. Heat the wok, add lard, add minced green onion, minced meat, winter bamboo shoot slices, and shiitake mushroom slices and stir-fry
3. Pour in water, then add soaked shrimp, rice wine, refined salt, and white sugar , add squid slices after boiling, thicken with water starch after a while, add MSG, pepper, and drizzle with sesame oil and serve.
Steps to stir-fry dried squid
1. Prepare the dried squid.
2. Soak the dried squid for a few hours.
3. Soak and cut into strips.
4. Blanch in boiling water.
5. Remove and set aside.
6. Cut the green pepper into shreds.
7. Cut the carrots into shreds.
8. Cut the onion into shreds.
9. Put the base oil in the pot, heat the oil, add the onion and ginger and stir-fry.
10. Add squid.
11. Add carrots, green peppers, and onions.
12. Add soy sauce.
13. Add cooking wine.
14. Add oyster sauce.
15. Add salt.
16. Add MSG.
Tips
1. The squid must be soaked.
2. After the squid is cooked, add vegetables and stir-fry.
3. The whole process should be on fire.