Quote:
Originally Posted by montsnmags
That is the product of bad cooking rather than calamari itself. Properly cooked calamari should not be at all chewy - should not feel like chewing on "rubber bands" (which is an apt analogy, and the general term used here for describing it when it's badly cooked). Calamari is a popular fish-and-chips item here (calamari-and-chips), and, after the chips, a very reasonable measure of a fish-and-chip shop's quality.
Calamari should be nice and tender and have about as much resistance as a decently-cooked scallop. It goes tough very quickly if you overcook it. If done properly, it's nice just lightly battered and seasoned (just a bit of salt & pepper, for example) and served with some kind of sauce (tartare sauce is popular, but, for instance, if you cooked it lets say in a tempura batter with a light seasoning of salt and szechuan pepper, a sweet chilli sauce diluted with lime juice and a little chopped coriander might be nice).
As someone not usually fond of much seafood (octopus is out, many fish types, shark, hate seafood broths or stews), good calamari is one I quite like. Bad, rubber band calamari (and it's not a rare thing) is sure to mean we'll never visit that fish-and-chip shop again.
Cheers,
Marc |
There used to be a small Italian restaurant in Abilene, Texas that served wonderful calamari. That's the first and only place I've ever had it, and it was wonderful. Not rubbery, not chewy, just a little bit of spice in the coating, and yep, had about the texture of a scallop. LOVE it.