I fell in love with Vietnamese food during a two-week holiday to the country about ten years ago. I remember eating delicately-spiced dishes in a jasmine-scented garden in Ho Chi Minh city, tucking into freshly-caught lime-drenched seafood on a beach in Nha Trang and a multiple-course family-style meal at a homestay on a deserted beach as a storm raged outside. I returned home with a Vietnamese cookbook and for months afterwards offered wonky summer rolls to anyone who visited my house (sorry about that).

There are lots of great Vietnamese restaurants close to where I live in East London (Viet Grill on Kingsland Road and Green Papaya on Mare Street are two of my favourites). Whatever else I have, I’ll always order a portion of salt and pepper squid (and usually wish I’d order two). Catherine from Borrowed Light, who shot these mouthwatering photographs is a fan too. “I can’t tell you how much I love this dish [from Cook In Boots by Ravinder Bhogal],” she says. “It’s easy and delicious, the only problem is it disappears far too quickly!”

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{The Ingredients}
  • 1kg baby squid, cleaned and prepared
  • 2 tsp black peppercorns
  • 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 60g cornflour
  • Groundnut oil for deep frying
  • 2 red chillies (deseeded if you don’t want it too spicy), sliced
  • 6 spring onions, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • Juice of ½ lime
  • 4 heaped tbsp chopped fresh coriander

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Method

Cut the squid into 2cm rings and pat dry with kitchen paper (drying helps the squid to be extra crispy.
Heat a dry frying pan and then toast the peppercorns until aromatic. Place them in a pestle and mortar along with the salt and crush to a coarse powder. Empty into a bowl and mix with the cornflour.
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer (we used a normal frying pan) over a high heat until shimmering.
Mix the squid into the bowl with salt, pepper and cornflour. Shake off the excess flour and then fry in the oil for 1-2 minutes. Any longer and the squid will go rubbery. Remove and drain well on kitchen paper.
Once all the squid is done, remove most of the oil from the pan saving a few tablespoons and flash fry the chillies, onions and garlic for 1 minute. Drain and mix well with the squid.
Squeeze the lime juice, sprinkle with coriander and serve immediately.

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