Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Squids in Oyster Sauce with Broccoli and Mushrooms




Was wondering what to prepare since it was Valentine's Day. Went to the market saw some fresh squids and had an idea to do some squids Chinese style. Cleaning was a headache and had to do it myself since the wife was not around. The idea of including Broccoli came up at home when I saw some in the freezer. I thought it was pretty good. My daughter loved it but Sari may have preferred it a bit spicier and said that the Broccoli should have been cooked a bit more. I thought that the broccoli tasted better since it was crisp and would have gone limp had I left it for some more time. What do you think??

Ingredients
500 gms squids cleaned and sliced into rings (see tip at the bottom on how to clean squid)
250 gms Broccoli floret (frozen) left our for an hour to thaw
6to 8 mushrooms - quartered
2 tbsp Garlic chopped fine
1 tbsp Ginger chopped fine
3 Green chilies chopped fine
3 tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
pinch of Aji No Moto (MSG)
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1 tbsp vinegar
½ cup water
1 tbsp cornflour dissolved with water
Oil for frying


Heat Oil in a Wok. Add Garlic and ginger, fry well and add green chilies. Let the garlic brown a bit then add the Oyster sauce and Soya Sauce and let if cook a bit more. Add brown sugar, Aji No Moto, pepper powder, vinegar and let it simmer. Add Squids and let it cook. The squids are cooked once the colour changes to an opaque white. Add the mushrooms. Add water and let it simmer. Once it comes to a boil add the cornflour mixture in a gradual stream to let the sauce thicken. Microwave the broccoli until done. Around 3 to 4 minutes. Toss the broccoli into the wok and just toss around for a few seconds until sauce has nicely coated . Serve Hot with Fried Rice or Noodles.

TIP: How To Clean Squid? Use your Kitchen sink. Hold body of squid firmly in one hand; grasp head firmly with other hand; pull head, twisting gently from side to side. Head and contents of body should come away in one piece. Cut tentacles off head; reserve. Discard head and contents of body. Grasp tip of pointed, thin clear cartilage protruding from body; pull out and discard. Rinse squid under cold running water. Peel off and discard spotted outer membrane. Pull off side fins; reserve. Rinse inside of squid bodies thoroughly under running water. Drain. Ready to use.

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