One of Australia’s favourite dishes,salt-and-pepper squid,meets Vietnam’s favourite sandwich,with magical results.
In the salad,the squid could easily be replaced by prawns,fish,chicken,beef or pork.
This is a great starter for a Thai-themed feast,zingy and fresh,and it really gets the tastebuds going. Rather than grilling the squid,I've charred up some tiny cucumbers for that grill flavour and have blanched the squid instead. This method yields a beautifully delicate result,perfect when you can find sparklingly fresh small squid at the market.
Assam prawns are one of my mother's most requested dishes. Mum's version is stir-fried,but I've reimagined the marinade for a jumble of delicious grilled seafood. Savoury,zingy and moreish,this dish uses only four ingredients. The simplicity of the marinade helps good quality produce shine,so use the freshest seafood you can get.
Black pepper and coriander is a great combination and very popular around south-east Asia. If you don't have a mortar and pestle,just use ground pepper and chop everything else up with a knife.
I've said it many times before,but calamari on the grill is one of my absolute favourite aromas – especially if you have the luxury of using real coals. Combine that charred squid with some other favourite things – lemon,anchovy,chilli,garlic,good olive oil,olives – and this is a dish that makes me very happy indeed. A gas barbecue will do the job extremely well,too – just make sure it gets properly hot*.
Instead of marinating things before they go onto a barbecue,a great way to add fresh flavour is to coat the cooked food after it comes off.
A recipe from the Good Food collection.
This is a classic pasta dish that I enjoyed repurposing at Rockpool in the early '90s. The combination of Italian and Thai cooking has a depth of flavour that has me coming back for more. Think the saltiness of the fish sauce with the zest of the lime juice and the heat of the chillies,tempered by the smokiness of the bacon. Scallops,crab or prawns – or a combination thereof – are all good variations,but I don't think you can ever beat the tenderness of flash-fried squid.
In the flash of a pan,this stir-fry balances heat,caramelisation and smoke,ticking off the flavour pillars of sweet,salty,sour and bitter. Runner beans can be replaced with green beans if unavailable.