How to Make Irresistible Pepper-Fried Dried Squid at Home

Fried dried squid with pepper is a dish with a fairly simple recipe, but its flavor is rich, fragrant, spicy, and appealing. After being grilled, the dried squid is shredded, lightly fried to a golden yellow, and then coated with a spicy, salty, and sweet pepper sauce, creating a chewy, fragrant, and flavor-packed result that gets more addictive with every bite. If you are looking for a way to make fried dried squid with pepper at home, you can refer to the recipe shared by Ola Squid below with easy-to-find ingredients and simple steps.

Ingredients to prepare for fried dried squid with pepper

To make the pan-roasted dried squid with pepper have a harmonious flavor, you should prepare pure dried squid along with basic spices. The following amount of ingredients is suitable for about 2–3 people:

Note: You can adjust the amount of chili, pepper, and sugar to your liking. If you prefer a distinct, sharp spicy taste, you should choose green pepper, whereas if you want the dish to have a familiar, fragrant, and milder spicy flavor, black pepper is the perfect choice.

Tools needed

• Grill rack or stove.
• Non-stick pan.
• Scissors or squid shredding tool.
• Small bowl for mixing sauce.
• Chopsticks or spatula for tossing the squid.

How to choose delicious dried squid for frying with pepper

The quality of dried squid directly affects the taste of the dish after cooking. Squid with the right dryness is easy to grill, shred, and retains its natural sweetness after frying. Squid that is too dry or has lost its moisture over a long period can become hard, tough, and difficult to absorb the sauce.

When choosing dried squid to make fried dried squid with pepper, you can look for the following characteristics:

• Color: High-quality dried squid has a natural color, with an off-white or light pink body, not too dark or showing abnormal spots of color.
• White powder layer: A natural layer of white powder may appear on the squid’s surface, which is a common characteristic of properly dried squid. However, you should not only rely on this powder layer to judge quality but should combine it with the color and smell of the squid.
• Smell: The squid should have the characteristic aroma of dried seafood, without any sour, musty, or strange odors.
• Dryness: The squid should be dry and firm, but not excessively hard. It should not feel damp, mushy, or sticky when held.
• Size: Medium or small-sized squid is convenient for grilling and shredding, while also easily absorbing seasonings when making the pepper-fried dish.

If you want a convenient ingredient choice, you can check out the whole dried squid lines from Ola Squid. Ola Squid currently offers various sizes of whole dried squid, from size 15–22 squids/kg to smaller sizes, made from natural squid with no added seasoning.

For the pepper fried dish, you should prioritize whole dried squid with moderate thickness so that it retains its chewy and aromatic texture during grilling and frying, instead of choosing an overly thin variety that easily becomes dry and hard during cooking.

See now: Top 9 addresses selling cheap, delicious dried squid in HCMC that you shouldn’t miss

Steps to make authentic fried dried squid with pepper

After preparing all the ingredients, you can start making the fried dried squid with pepper according to the 5 steps below.

Step 1 – Grilling squid and shredding

Quickly rinse the dried squid with clean water to remove any dust on the surface from the drying and preservation process. Then, place the squid on a grill rack and grill over low heat on the stove.

While grilling the dried squid, you should turn the squid frequently and keep a safe distance from the heat source to ensure even cooking without burning or catching a burnt smell. Once the squid releases its aroma, turns a light golden color, and curls slightly, turn off the stove.

Remove the squid from the rack, use a pestle to gently pound it to make the meat softer and looser, and then shred it into bite-sized pieces. Finally, remove the squid bone and back skin before proceeding to the next preparation step.

Step 2 – Making the pepper sauce

Rinse the chilies, shallots, and garlic, then drain well. Gently wash the green pepper under running water and let it dry before cooking.

Next, place the green pepper on the grill rack and roast over low heat on the stove for about 2–3 minutes. During roasting, turn the pepper sprigs evenly to cook them aromatically without burning. Once the pepper releases its fragrance, turn off the stove and remove it. Put the pepper in a mortar, use a pestle to gently crush it until the peppercorns just crack in half; do not grind too finely to preserve its characteristic aroma and heat.

To mix the sauce, combine 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1/3 teaspoon of MSG, and 3 teaspoons of fish sauce in a small bowl. Stir well until the sugar dissolves completely and the ingredients blend into a rich, flavorful sauce mixture.

Finally, put the prepared shallots, garlic, and chilies into the mortar and crush them finely. This mixture will be sautéed in the next step, helping the green-pepper-fried dried squid dish release a wonderful aroma and look more appealing.

Step 3 – Frying the dried squid

Place a pan on the stove, pour in a sufficient amount of cooking oil, and heat until hot. Add the shredded squid to the pan, lower the heat, and toss evenly for about 5 minutes until the squid turns golden yellow and absorbs the oil without burning.

Once the squid turns vibrant golden, dry, and thoroughly coated with oil, turn off the heat. Remove or transfer the squid to a plate and let it drain before proceeding to the simmering step with the green pepper sauce.

Step 4 – Frying squid with pepper sauce until the sauce thickens and infuses evenly

Place the pan on the stove, add a little cooking oil, and heat it up. Once the oil is hot, add the crushed shallots, garlic, and chilies to sauté over medium heat until golden and fragrant. Next, add the roasted green pepper and toss for about 2 minutes to release its aroma.

Add the pre-fried squid to the pan, toss well for about 5 minutes over medium heat so that the squid absorbs the aroma of the green pepper. Then, pour in the mixed black pepper sauce, lower the heat to medium-low, and continue tossing for about 5 minutes to coat the sauce evenly onto each piece of squid.

When the squid is dry, and the sauce thickens and clings evenly around the squid pieces, turn off the heat. Plate the green-pepper-fried dried squid and enjoy while still hot.

Finished product and how to enjoy fried dried squid with pepper

Perfectly made fried dried squid with pepper will feature an eye-catching golden-brown color, with each shred coated in a sweet and salty sauce mingled with pepper and chili. When eating, the squid has a pleasant chewiness; the more you chew, the more you perceive its natural sweetness blending with the spicy, aromatic taste of pepper and chili.

Fried dried squid with pepper can be served as a snack or a finger food at gatherings. You can pair it with Vietnamese coriander (rau ram) and cucumbers to balance out the rich flavor of the squid. For casual drinking sessions with friends, fried dried squid with pepper is also an excellent pairing with beer.

If you make a large batch and cannot finish it all, you should let the squid cool completely before placing it in an airtight container or a clean zip-top bag. Store it in the refrigerator compartment and consume it early to prevent it from absorbing moisture and losing its flavor. When eating again, you can quickly reheat it in a pan over low heat or in an air fryer to make the squid more aromatic.

See more delicious fried squid recipes:

• Instructions on making irresistibly delicious, crispy deep-fried stuffed squid with meat
• How to make flavorful, addictive squid fried in fish sauce
• Revealing the recipe for highly aromatic, universally loved garlic butter fried squid
• The recipe for making addictive fried squid with wild betel leaves
• How to make delicious crispy fried and breaded fried squid at home

Secrets to making the fried dried squid with pepper taste even better

In addition to the quality of the ingredients, a few small tips during cooking can help the pan-roasted dried squid with pepper become more aromatic and have a better texture. You should keep the following points in mind:

• Pound the squid gently before shredding: After grilling, use a pestle to lightly pound both sides of the squid to loosen the meat fibers. Thanks to this, the squid becomes easier to shred and has a softer, more tender chew when eaten.
• Prioritize fresh green pepper: Green pepper has a distinctive fragrant aroma and sharp heat, which is perfect for pepper-based sauces. When lightly crushed and quickly sautéed with garlic, the pepper gives the sauce a much more pronounced aroma.
• Stir the sauce over low heat: Since the sauce contains sugar, a high heat will cause the sugar to caramelize too quickly, burn, and create a bitter taste. Low heat allows the sauce to slowly thicken, coating each squid shred evenly without burning.
• Do not fry the squid for too long: The dried squid is already dried, so it only needs to be fried briefly to firm up and become fragrant. Frying it for too long will cause it to lose more moisture, making it hard and tough.
• Add the squid when the sauce is already thickened: If you add the squid when the sauce is still too watery, you will have to toss it longer for the sauce to evaporate, which can easily dry out the squid. Waiting until the sauce starts to thicken before adding the squid will help the seasonings coat quickly and evenly.

With easy-to-prepare ingredients and a straightforward preparation method, the above recipe for fried dried squid with pepper is perfect for you to make at home when you want to change up your dried squid dishes. Just pay attention to grilling the squid just right, frying quickly, and simmering the pepper sauce over low heat, and you can create a chewy, fragrant, mildly spicy, rich, and appetizing squid dish.

If you are looking for dried squid to make this dish, you can refer to the dried squid products from Ola Squid in various sizes. According to information on the website, Ola Squid provides whole dried squid made from natural squid, with no added seasoning, perfect for making a variety of dishes such as grilling, simmering, or frying at home.