Easy homemade Chinese salt and pepper squid recipe made with succulent squids/calamari with the best crispy, non-greasy, airy coating and flavourful salt and chilli seasonings. One of the most popular restaurants and takeaways appetizer recipes that everyone loves!
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We love to make simple, delicious, and budget-friendly appetizers at home. Crispy Salt and Pepper Prawns, Salt and pepper wings and Crispy Coconut Prawns are our go-to starter recipes for parties, dinners, and family gatherings!
What is Chinese salt and pepper squid?
Salt and pepper squid ( 椒盐鱿鱼 ) is a deep fried crispy coated squid tossed with garlicky, chilli, salt, and pepper seasonings. You can find it in the menu of Cantonese Chinese restaurants and takeaways in the UK, US, Australia, and many countries across the world.
This dish is also known as Chinese salt and pepper calamari, salt and chilli squid, or Chinese fried squid. Calamari is an Italian name for deep-fried crispy squids and is seasoned with basic salt and black pepper. English/Italian calamari is usually served with mayonnaise or a choice of dipping sauce.
My mom used to make Japanese-style fried squid with tempura batter and spicy mayo whenever she bought fresh squids from the seafood market. It's one of my favourite savoury snacks.
In this recipe, I am sharing our homemade version of salt and pepper squid Chinese style with simple tips and tricks. Learn how to make non-rubbery, perfect tender squid inside and crispy, airy, non-greasy coating outside.
Why you would love this recipe
- This dish is easy to make at home if you know the right ingredients and techniques.
- It tastes better than regular takeout and frozen salt n pepper squid. If you find the frozen battered squids tasteless, now it's time to make DIY salt and pepper squid at home.
- When you cook at home you can adjust the flavour of chilli, salt, garlic, and pepper to your taste. To make mild or kid-friendly salt and pepper squid, you can simply omit chilli peppers and Sichuan peppercorns.
- A perfect starter dish for dinner, parties, gatherings, or any occasion. You can prep the coating ahead and deep fry them just before serving.
Essential Ingredients
- Squid/Calamari - Fresh squids taste best to make this dish but it is completely fine to use frozen squids. Frozen squids should be defrosted before cooking. You can also add tentacles in whole or cut them into half.
- Chinese salt and pepper seasonings - basic ingredients are fine salt, freshly ground black pepper or white pepper, fried garlic, and fresh/dried chillies. You can also add Chinese five spice powder, Sichuan peppercorns, msg or chicken powder to your liking.
- Shao Xing wine - Adding rice-cooking wine to the marinade can eliminate the fishy smell of seafood and brings more flavour to the dish. If you want to make it non-alcohol or halal salt and pepper squids, you can omit Shao Xing wine or use halal Mirin or cooking wine.
- Sichuan peppercorn - Adding crushed Sichuan peppercorns bring more flavour to the dish. It has numbing hot sensations and if you don't have it, you can omit it.
- Chicken powder - is a chicken bouillon powder and has a rich, salty, umami flavour. Instead of chicken powder, you can add msg. Adding chicken powder is optional. You can omit it if you don't have it.
How to make it
- Prepare the squids - Pat dry the cleaned squids with a kitchen towel to remove excess water. Cut it into half-inch rings or small bite-size pieces.
- Season the squid rings with salt, pepper, and Shao Xing wine. Mix it well for a few seconds then add egg white and cornstarch. Mix it well until it becomes thick and sticky.
- Combine cornstarch, plain flour, and baking powder in a bowl. Dredge each squid ring in the flour mix and coat it well.
- Then set them aside on a plate or tray and toss the excess flour out before frying.
- Fill the pot with enough oil to deep fry ( At least 3 inches ). Heat the oil to high heat at about 350°F ( 180° C ). Fry the coated squids in the hot oil for 2-3 minutes or until crispy golden brown. Remove from the oil and place them over the paper towel or wire rack. Fry with small batches and repeat the process until all the coated squids run out.
- Heat the large wok/pan to medium heat, drizzle 1 tbsp of oil and stir fry the garlic for a few seconds then add the minced chillies and crushed Sichuan peppercorns. Stir it well for 8-10 seconds or until fragrant.
- Next, add the fried squids and sprinkle salt, pepper, and chicken powder. Toss it well for a few seconds until all the ingredients combine evenly.
- Finish with chopped spring onions and transfer to a serving plate. Serve immediately.
How to clean squids
- First, wear a pair of gloves before cleaning squids. To clean the whole squid, start by removing the head and innard by gently twisting and pulling out the head from the body apart. You can either use the head part or discard it with innards.
- Then remove and discard the cartilage-like transparent cuttlebone from the body part.
- Remove the skin membrane and wash the squid thoroughly with cold water. Pat dry with a paper towel before slicing them.
Top Tips
- Deep frying tips - Do not overcrowd the frying oil and fry with small batches. The oil temperature should be hot enough to achieve a crispy non-greasy coating.
- Frozen squids should be thawed before coating and frying.
- Frying oil - Use vegetable oil or sunflower, canola, grapeseeds, peanut, etc. Deep-fried food tastes best with high smoke point neutral flavour oil.
- Deep frying time is about 2-3 minutes. Make sure not to overcook the squids because overcooked squids are hard, chewy, and unpleasant to eat.
- Spices Add-ons - Chinese five spices powder and crushed dried chillies can be also added if you love extra spices.
Most Asked Questions
Place the coated squids over the rack and spray a generous amount of cooking oil and air-fry/bake in preheated oven/air-fryer 400°F ( 200°C ) for 4-5 minutes or until crispy golden.
Do not recommend boiled or pre-cooked squids for this recipe because you are deep frying them again.
Yes, you can place the coated squid rings over the non-stick baking sheet on a tray. Add them to the freezer for 1-2 hours until set, then transfer them to the freezer-safe bags/container for later use.
Do not recommend reheating in the microwave or stovetop. It tastes best when freshly cooked and reheating squids can be easily overcooked and results in a soft coating texture.
How to seve this dish
You can serve this dish on its own as an appetizer or savoury snack. We love to serve it together with plain rice, Basic Egg Fried Rice & Fried Noodles to complete the meal. You can also pair it with Broccoli Tempura, Tomato Egg Drop Soup, Hot and Sour Soup, Siu Mai , Beef Fried Rice, or Chinese Five Spice Chicken and make it a wholesome Chinese dinner.
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📖 Recipe
Chinese Salt and Pepper Squid
Equipment
- 1 Large wok/pan to toss everything
- 1 Medium-sized pot for deep frying with oil
Ingredients
Squid and marinade
- 250 gram Squids Or calamari, cleaned and cut into ½ inch rings ( About 8.8oz ) see details in note
- ½ tsp Salt fine salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Shao Xing wine Chinese cooking rice wine or Japanese mirin ( Optional )
- 1 tbsp Egg white About half egg white
- 2-3 tbsp Corn starch Or potato starch
Flour Coating Mix
- 6 tbsp Corn starch or potato starch
- 3 tbsp Plain flour all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp Baking powder
For Stir Fry
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns Medium or fine coarse ( Optional )
- 2-3 Cloves Garlic Finely chopped
- 2-3 Spring onions Cut thin slices
- 1 tbsp Oil for stir fry Vegetable or neutral flavour oil
- 1-2 Chilli peppers Red & green hot/mild, minced
- ¼ tsp Salt Or salt to taste
- ¼ tsp Black pepper Freshly ground black or white pepper
- ¼ tsp Chicken powder Or Msg ( Optional ) see details in note
- Oil for deep fry Vegetable or neutral flavour oil
Instructions
Marinade and Coating
- First, pat-dry the cleaned squids with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Then slice it into half-inch rings or small bite-size pieces.
- Place the squids in the large mixing bowl and add salt, pepper, and Shao Xing wine. Mix it well for a few seconds then add egg white and cornstarch. Combine everything well until it become thick and sticky.
- In a bowl combine cornstarch, plain flour, and baking powder. Dredge each squid ring in the flour mix and toss the excess flour out. Then set them aside in a plate or tray.
Deep Frying Squids
- Heat the oil to high heat at about 350°F ( 180° C ). Fry the coated squids in the hot oil for 2-3 minutes or until crispy golden brown. Remove from oil and place them over the paper towel or wire rack. Fry with small batches and repeat the frying process until all the coated squids runs out.
Sir Frying
- Heat the large wok/pan to medium heat, drizzle 1 tbsp of oil and stir fry the garlic for a few seconds then add the minced chillies and crushed Sichuan peppercorns. Stir it well for 8-10 seconds or until fragrant.
- Next, add the fried squids and sprinkle salt, pepper, and chicken powder. Toss it well for a few seconds until all the ingredients combine evenly.
- Finish with chopped spring onions and transfer to a serving plate. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Squid/Calamari - Fresh squids taste best to make this dish but it is completely fine to use frozen squids. Frozen squids should be defrosted before cooking. You can also add tentacles in whole or cut them into half.
- Can I use pre-cooked squids? Do not recommend boiled or pre-cooked squids for this recipe.
- Shao Xing wine - Adding rice cooking wine to the marinade can eliminate the fishy smell of seafood and brings more flavour to the dish. If you want to make it non-alcohol or halal salt and pepper squids, you can omit Shao Xing wine or use halal Mirin or cooking wine.
- Sichuan peppercorn - Adding crushed Sichuan peppercorns bring more flavour to the dish. It has numbing hot sensations and if you don't have it, you can omit it.
- What type of oil to use? Use vegetable, sunflower, canola, peanut or high smoke point or neutral flavour oil for both stir fry and stir fry.
- Chicken powder - is a chicken bouillon powder and has a rich, salty, umami flavour. Instead of chicken powder, you can add msg. Adding chicken powder is optional. You can omit it if you don't have it.
- Deep frying tips - Do not overcrowd the frying oil and fry with small batches. The oil temperature should be hot enough to achieve a crispy non-greasy coating.
- Make sure not to overcook the squids because overcooked squids are hard, chewy, and unpleasant to eat.
- Can you bake or air-fry squids? Place the coated squids over the rack and spray a generous amount of cooking oil and air-fry/bake in preheated oven/air-fryer 400°F ( 200°C ) for 4-5 minutes or until crispy golden.
- Spices Add-ons - Chinese five spices powder and crushed dried chillies can be also added if you love extra spices.
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