Slow Cooker Soy-Ginger Braised Squid
Speed - 98%
Simplicity - 100%
Tastiness - 100%
99%
Delicious!
This braised squid came out really flavorful and extremely tender. The sweet and spicy sauce was really delicious.
Ingredients
- 500 Grams Squid cut into rings
- 1 2-inch Piece Ginger finely chopped
- 1 Bulb garlic peeled, crushed
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Oyster Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Chinese Cooking Wine
- 2 Stalks Leeks thinly sliced
- 2 Pieces Bay Leaves
- Red Thai Chili optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Cook for 8 hours on low.
This slow cooker braised squid turned out excellently flavorful and tender. I know, I may get some eyebrows raising by now, as most say that squid should be cooked for a minute or less to keep it from getting too tough and rubbery. Well, true, but not without exception.
Squid comes full of natural collagen which in its raw state is indeed slightly springy but really tender. A quick exposure to heat from cooking should keep those collagen fibers in place, that is why most advise to keep cooking times under a minute. Going ever so slightly longer would get those fibers in a denatured state, snapping them out of order, resulting in a tougher bite.
Let's say for argument's sake I'd agree. The thing is, while I do keep my squid tender by cooking it so rapidly, I can't get any flavor into it either.
The solution – braising. Cooking those collagen fibers low and slow, gets them hydrolyzed and extremely tender. And the best part, they'll take on whatever flavors you put into the braising liquid.
So let's get cooking. Begin with fresh squid and get it all cleaned, and prepped-up. Pull the head out. Remove the ‘spine' inside its cavity and cut the squid's body into rings. Well, how you cut it won't really matter. You can even leave it whole, or stuffed if you wish.
Cut the tentacles into bite-size pieces working from the tip up towards the head. Once you get to the head, you'll see the squid's ‘teeth' right at the center. Pop it off by pressing on the base of the squid's head with your thumb and forefinger.
Finally, I leave you to decide whether to leave the ink sacs on or not. I do use squid ink for some dishes like risotto, black pasta, paella negra. . .but for everything else, I just don't like that black ink ruining the colors of my dish.
Next, get the ingredients to make up a braising liquid. I chose to go for Asian flavors, hence the soy sauce, oyster sauce, scallions, garlic, Chinese wine, and sugar. Work on any flavor profile you wish. Go tomato-based, use wine, add some beer, or even bbq sauce. I really think any flavor would work well.
I took the extra step of mixing my braising ingredients in a separate bowl because I'm adding sugar and I want to dissolve it evenly before I get it into my pot. Otherwise, you could go ahead and dump all of them in your slow cooker.
The squid goes in at the same time. Seven hours on low would get this squid perfectly tender and well-flavored by that braising liquid. You could need more time if you're working on a bigger-sized squid.
I added chopped red chili to the dish upon serving. The heat would perfectly balance out all of the sweetness from the sauce. If everyone at home had the same tolerance for heat as I do, I'd get those chilis into the braise as well.
Ingredients
- 500 Grams Squid cut into rings
- 1 2-inch Piece Ginger finely chopped
- 1 Bulb garlic peeled, crushed
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Oyster Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Chinese Cooking Wine
- 2 Stalks Leeks thinly sliced
- 2 Pieces Bay Leaves
- Red Thai Chili optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Cook for 8 hours on low.
Slow Cooker Prawn Laksa
Wow. Loved this recipe. I would put less sugar and definitely add chilies The cuttlefish was just melt in the mouth awesome. I added chopped green beans in at the end also. Delicious. Thank you.