How to Make Buttery Garlic Stir-fried Squid at Home in 20 Minutes

Stir-fried squid with garlic butter is a familiar dish in Vietnamese family meals, being both easy to make and appealing to many age groups. Quite a few home cooks struggle because the squid turns out chewy, releases water, or retains an unpleasant fishy smell. The following article from Ola Squid will guide you on how to make stir-fried squid with garlic butter properly, along with two favorite variations and tips to help the dish maintain its crispy and delicious texture just like at a restaurant.

Ingredients for stir-fried squid with garlic butter

Fresh broad squid with thick meat provides a natural crisp sweetness, combining with butter and fragrant fried garlic to create a characteristic rich and savory flavor. The recipe below is suitable for a serving of 2-3 people, with a preparation time of about 25-30 minutes, of which the prep work takes about 15 minutes.

Margarine is a popular choice due to its moderate richness, avoiding any greasy feeling when consumed in large quantities. For those who prefer a richer flavor, it can be replaced with unsalted butter in an equivalent ratio. For garlic, you should choose local garlic with small cloves that have a pungent aroma, finely minced so that when fried, they release a better aroma than sliced garlic.

Step-by-step guide on how to make stir-fried squid with garlic butter

Many people ruin this dish by stir-frying for too long or skipping the quick-blanching step, causing the squid to release a lot of water and become chewy. Below is the 5-step process that Ola Squid has verified through practical cooking.

Step 1: Preparing the squid

• Clean the broad squid, remove the ink sac, eyes, and beak, and peel off the outer purple membrane.
• Eliminate the fishy odor by rubbing white wine and a few slices of crushed ginger over the entire squid body for about 5 minutes, then rinse with clean water.
• Next, blanch the squid in boiling water for about 10-15 seconds and take it out immediately; this operation helps the squid firm up, become crunchier, and not release water when stir-frying.

Step 2: Sautéing the garlic butter

Put the butter in the pan, melt it over low heat until completely liquefied. Add the minced garlic and sauté until golden and fragrant, avoiding high heat because garlic burns easily, ruining the natural rich flavor of the butter.

Step 3: Stir-frying the squid over high heat to retain crispness

Add the blanched squid into the garlic butter pan, turn up to high heat and toss quickly. This is the decisive step for the crispness of the dish, as the squid exposed to high heat for a short time will become firm without having time to release water.

Step 4: Seasoning and finishing the dish

Season with salt, sugar, and seasoning powder to taste, add ground pepper and minced chili according to your preference. Toss well for about 1-2 minutes then turn off the heat, add chopped scallions to mix with the remaining heat of the pan.

Step 5: Finished product

Standard stir-fried squid with garlic butter has a moderate chewy and crispy texture, a rich buttery and garlicky aroma, with no remaining fishy smell of seafood. The color of the squid is naturally pinkish-white, dotted with eye-catching green scallions and red chili.

Some secrets to keep the crispness of the squid and avoid it becoming hard and chewy:

• Stir-fry over high heat, operating quickly so the squid does not have time to release water
• Only stir-fry for a short time, about 2-3 minutes, avoiding tossing back and forth for too long
• Do not cover the pan when stir-frying because trapped condensation will make the squid chewy

See more:

• How to make delicious stir-fried squid with celery and garlic without fishy odor
• Revealing how to make fragrant fried squid with garlic butter that everyone loves

2 favorite variations of stir-fried squid with garlic butter

Besides the traditional recipe with fresh broad squid, stir-fried squid with garlic butter also has many variations suitable for different usage needs – from a crunchy drinking snack to a convenient snack that can be stored for a long time.

Crunchy stir-fried squid teeth with garlic butter

Squid teeth are the crunchy cartilage part of the squid; when stir-fried with garlic butter, they create a drinking snack loved by many thanks to their characteristic crunchiness, completely different from the squid body.

The cooking method consists of 4 basic steps:

• Step 1: Prepare the squid teeth – wash thoroughly with diluted saltwater, let drain
• Step 2: Marinate the squid teeth with spices for 15-20 minutes to absorb evenly
• Step 3: Stir-fry the squid teeth with garlic butter over high heat until firm and crispy
• Step 4: Finish, sprinkle pork crackling on top before enjoying

Garlic butter fried dried squid for rice meals, long-term storage

For busy people who do not have time to prepare fresh squid every day, garlic butter fried dried squid is a convenient alternative choice. This dish can be prepared in large quantities in advance, stored for consumption throughout the week while still maintaining its delicious flavor.

The execution process includes 5 steps:

• Step 1: Prepare the dried squid – soak with beer or warm water for 10 minutes, lightly grill then shred into bite-sized strips
• Step 2: Lightly fry the squid over medium heat until the squid strips curl slightly
• Step 3: Make the garlic butter sauce – sauté garlic with butter until golden and fragrant, season with fish sauce, sugar, seasoning powder
• Step 4: Stir-fry the squid together with the garlic butter sauce, tossing evenly until the squid is coated with the sauce
• Step 5: Finished product – garlic butter fried dried squid has a harmonious salty-sweet taste, naturally chewy and crispy

The advantage of using dried squid instead of fresh squid lies in convenience: no elaborate preparation required, much longer storage time compared to fresh squid, suitable for making in advance for the whole week. This is also why garlic butter fried dried squid is often chosen as a snack, drinking food, or to take along on trips. At Ola Squid, dried squid is selected from quality seafood sources, naturally sun-dried, suitable for preparing flavorful garlic butter stir-fried dishes without taking much preparation effort.

Refer to more flavorful stir-fried squid recipes:

• Recipe for crispy, sweet, and fragrant stir-fried squid with green beans
• How to make sweet and sour, crunchy stir-fried squid with pineapple at home
• How to make delicious, rich, and attractive stir-fried squid with onions and celery
• How to make delicious, crispy stir-fried squid with cauliflower, the more you eat, the more addicted you get
• Revealing how to make simple yet attractive sweet and sour stir-fried squid

Some notes when making stir-fried squid with garlic butter

Whether using fresh or dried squid, a few general principles below will help the dish achieve standard crispness, chewiness, and flavor:

• Do not stir-fry fresh squid for too long to avoid chewiness, the ideal time is only about 2-3 minutes over high heat
• Only fry the squid just right so it doesn’t get hard, especially with the recipe using dried squid
• Choose the right type of butter – unsalted butter for a mild richness, margarine for a richer taste and more reasonable cost
• Use low heat when putting butter into the pan so the butter doesn’t burn and turn bitter, affecting the overall flavor of the dish

How to make garlic butter fried dried squid does not require complicated techniques, just grasping the correct principles of temperature and stir-frying time can create a crispy, chewy, and buttery dish for the whole family. From the traditional broad squid recipe to variations of squid teeth or dried squid, each version brings its own unique appeal suitable for different meals.