Cherry & Dennis Recipes
Steamed Squid with Garlic and Black Bean Sauce
蒜蓉豆豉蒸鮮魷
Recipe overview
Steamed Squid with Garlic and Black Bean Sauce is a strongly flavoured yet simple Hong Kong home-style seafood dish. Garlic and fermented black beans provide a savoury aroma, while a little ginger and sesame oil balance the seafood fragrance. It is especially good with plain rice. The steaming time is short, and a beginner helper can make it successfully by learning how to clean, crosshatch-score and cook fresh squid correctly. Remove the innards, transparent cartilage and outer membrane thoroughly, pat the squid dry before adding sauce, and wait until the steaming water is fully boiling. Take the squid out as soon as the scored pieces curl and turn from translucent to opaque white, because oversteaming makes it tough. Squid is naturally springy, so this dish is intended for adults and older adults with normal chewing ability and is not classified as a children's meal.
01
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 600 g Fresh squid (About 2 to 3 medium squid; remove the innards, transparent cartilage, eyes, hard beak and surface membrane before use)
- 5 cloves Garlic (Peel and mince finely)
- 1 tablespoon Fermented black beans (Rinse very quickly, drain and chop roughly; do not soak for a long time)
- 15 g Ginger (Peel and cut into fine strips; use half under the squid and half on top)
- 2 stalks Scallions (Cut the white parts into sections for the plate and the green parts into fine strips for finishing)
- 1/4 Red bell pepper (Remove the seeds and cut into fine strips, mainly for colour and gentle sweetness)
- As needed Water (Only for cleaning the squid, quickly rinsing the fermented black beans and filling the steaming wok; do not add it to the steaming sauce)
Garlic and fermented black bean sauce
- 1 teaspoon Light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (Omit if alcohol is not used; do not replace it with water)
- 1 teaspoon Cooking oil (Used to mix the garlic and fermented black bean sauce)
Squid coating
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch (Use only a thin coating and avoid excess)
- 1/2 teaspoon Sesame oil
- A little Ground white pepper (Omit if the family dislikes pepper)
Finishing seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Warmed cooked oil (Warm until just tepid and drizzle over the scallions; omit for a lighter version)
02
Tools
- Covered steaming wok or steam oven
- Covered steaming wok or steam oven
- Steaming rack
- Heatproof steaming plate
- Large bowl
- Small bowl
- Strainer
- Knife
- Chopping board
- Kitchen scissors
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Kitchen paper
- Kitchen tongs
- Chopsticks
- Heatproof gloves
03
Steps
Step 1
Separate the squid bodies and heads
Hold a squid tube with one hand and slowly pull out the head with the attached innards using the other. Work gently so the ink sac does not burst. Separate the edible tentacles from the innards, keep the tentacles, and discard the innards and ink sac. Make sure no obvious innards remain inside the tube.
Step 2
Remove the cartilage and inedible parts
Pull the long, transparent and firm cartilage, also called the quill, out of each squid tube. Cut below the eyes with kitchen scissors to retain the tentacles, then remove the eyes and the hard beak. Squeeze out the small hard beak from the centre of the tentacles and check that all hard parts are gone.
Step 3
Peel and rinse the squid
Peel away the purple-grey outer membrane and open the tubes to inspect the inside. Rinse the tubes and tentacles briefly under running water to remove slime and residue, then drain in a strainer. Do not soak them for a long time or their fresh flavour will be lost.
Step 4
Crosshatch-score and cut
Cut each tube open lengthwise and lay it flat with the inner surface facing up. Hold the knife at an angle and make shallow crossing cuts about one-third of the way through without cutting the flesh apart. Cut into roughly 4 cm squares and trim long tentacles to similar lengths.
Step 5
Pat the squid dry
Place the cut squid and tentacles on a clean plate or chopping board. Press each piece gently with kitchen paper to absorb water from the surface and scored grooves. Drying thoroughly prevents excess liquid from diluting the sauce during steaming.
Step 6
Prepare the garlic and garnishes
Mince the garlic finely. Quickly rinse, drain and roughly chop the fermented black beans. Cut the ginger into fine strips, the scallion whites into short sections, and the scallion greens and red bell pepper into fine strips. Keep every ingredient separate.
Step 7
Mix the garlic black bean sauce
Put the minced garlic, chopped fermented black beans, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, Shaoxing wine and 1 teaspoon cooking oil in a small bowl. Stir with a teaspoon until the sugar disperses and the garlic and beans are evenly coated. The sauce should be moist but not watery.
Step 8
Lightly coat the squid
Put the dried squid in a large bowl and add cornstarch, sesame oil and a little white pepper. Turn gently with chopsticks so every piece has only a thin dusting of cornstarch. Do not stir roughly or add extra water.
Step 9
Arrange the squid and add sauce
Lay the scallion whites and half the ginger in the centre of a heatproof steaming plate. Arrange the squid in one layer, placing thicker tentacles in the centre. Spread the garlic black bean sauce evenly over the squid, then add the remaining ginger and half the red pepper strips.
Step 10
Bring the steaming water to a full boil
Add enough water to the steaming wok, install the rack and cover. Bring the water to a full boil over high heat until strong steam rises continuously. The water must not touch the steaming plate, and the squid must not be steamed from cold water.
Step 11
Steam over high heat until just cooked
Wearing heatproof gloves, carefully set the squid plate on the rack and cover immediately. Steam over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. The squid is just cooked when the scored pieces curl, the flesh changes from translucent to opaque white and the tentacles are fully opaque. Do not routinely steam for more than 6 minutes.
Step 12
Add scallion and pepper strips and serve
Turn off the heat and remove the plate immediately so residual heat does not continue cooking the squid. Scatter over the green scallion and remaining red pepper strips and, if desired, drizzle with 1 teaspoon of tepid cooked oil. Gently loosen the steaming juices and serve at once without prolonged warming.
Common mistakes
- Not cleaning thoroughly after the ink sac bursts: Ink can stain the counter, squid and other ingredients and spoil the appearance. Pull the innards slowly; if the sac bursts, separate the ingredients and rinse them promptly.
- Forgetting the transparent cartilage or hard beak: Inedible hard pieces may remain in the finished dish. Check every tube for its transparent quill and the centre of every set of tentacles for the hard beak.
- Scoring too deeply: Deep cuts slice the squid apart and make it break after steaming. Cut only about one-third through, just enough to create clear crossing lines.
- Not drying the squid thoroughly: Surface water dilutes the sauce and creates too much bland liquid on the plate. Pat the squid dry before adding cornstarch or sauce.
- Soaking the fermented black beans: Long soaking removes their savoury fermented flavour. Rinse away surface dust quickly and drain immediately.
- Overlapping the squid: Overlapping areas cook unevenly, leaving the lower pieces undercooked while the upper ones become tough. Arrange one layer and put the thickest parts in the centre.
- Steaming too long: Overcooked squid shrinks noticeably and turns tough. Remove it as soon as the scored pieces curl and the flesh becomes opaque instead of adding extra minutes for reassurance.
- Leaving the squid in the wok to keep warm: Residual heat continues cooking the squid and changes its texture from tender and springy to hard. Remove the plate immediately after turning off the heat.
Tips
Ask the fishmonger to remove the innards, but still check the cartilage, beak and membrane at home. Shallow crosshatch scoring on the inner surface helps the squid curl neatly and hold the sauce after steaming. Rinse fermented black beans quickly; do not soak away all their saltiness. If the family avoids alcohol, omit Shaoxing wine without replacing it with water. When squid pieces vary in thickness, put thicker tentacles in the centre and thinner body pieces around the outside. After 4 minutes, observe through a clear lid instead of repeatedly opening it and losing steam. For a lighter diet, reduce the oyster sauce and omit the finishing oil, but do not add extra water. This dish should not be kept warm for long, so start steaming it only when the other dishes are nearly ready.
