Mamak squid

Inspiration for this fish came from the ubiquitous mamak stores in Malaysia. In KL, you can order your meat or seafood of choice to be deep fried to heart attack heaven. A 100-gram serving of squid set me back RM12. At home, I spent half of that to get four times as much. How? Buying your squid whole and cutting it at home really helps to bring down cost.

Mamak Squid
400g squid, cut into 1-cm rings (About 4 medium squid)
1 medium onion, julienned
1 tsp salt, tumeric, chili powder
Half a cup of flour
Oil for frying

1. Squid disassembly basics: Peel off thin outer skin, pull out head and tentacles, cut off tentacles just below the eyes (remove beak from tentacles and also discard head), remove plasticky quill-like backbone from main body. Chop body to rings and tentacles to bite-sized bits.
2. Season squid and onions in a bowl with salt, tumeric and chili. Cover and leave in the fridge for an hour.
3. Heat oil to 240 (C). Drain squid and onion mixture from excess moisture and then dredge lightly in flour. Deep fry until crispy, about two minutes. Drain and serve!

Cost Breakdown
Total cost RM4.20++
Cost per serving RM2.10++
Squid RM4
Onion RM0.20

Tags: Deep fried squid, Mamak sotong