Recipe: Squid in Black Bean Sauce

Recipe Source: Fleetwood, Jenni.  Instant Cooking.  Barnes & Noble, New York, 1995 p. 194

My husband found this book recently while puttering about in the barn.  It was in a pile of things that we moved from our old house in Arlington but never unpacked.  I vaguely remember this book.  I bought it as a Christmas present for my little sister, having misinterpreted what my mother said she wanted.  When Mom corrected me, I put the book aside and didn't think about it much.  Not, that is, until my husband found it years later.  I kind of regret all those years of neglect.  Time and money are both things that the average home cook frequently wants more of; the recipes in this book tend to be very sparing of both. 

I made a few changes to the original.  I doubled it, for starters.  My squid came in a one-pound frozen package and couldn't be partially thawed.  I also increased the proportion of garlic and black bean sauce, because I wanted to.  Finally, I also included more chile peppers, because they all ripened at once in our garden and I had to use them somehow. 

Squid in Black Bean Sauce (serves 4; approx. $3.01/serving)

1 lb frozen squid tubes, thawed and sliced into rings (feel free to use a pound of fresh squid here, and to mix in tentacles.  I had frozen squid tubes on hand, so that's what got used.)

3 cayenne chiles, chopped

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

5 garlic cloves, crushed

6 tablespoons black bean sauce

8 tablespoons water

Equipment:

• Wok

1. Heat the oil in the wok.
2. Add the garlic.  Cook until it is fragrant. 
3. Add the squid.  Stir-fry until it is just starting to turn white. 
4. Add in the remaining ingredients.  Saute until the squid is done - probably not much more than a minute.  Be careful not to overcook the squid!
5. Serve, with white rice. 

Comments

[Angie's Recipes]

Squid and black bean sauce are a classic combination. Nutritious, and delicious.

Angie's Recipes

[nora@ffr]

vat a great combo!! m loving it!! :)
cheers!!

[Sophie]

Your dish looks georgous!! but i prefer fresh squid from the fish shop where I usually go!

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