Vietnamese Calamari Herb Salad
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from 6 to 8 large limes)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (also called nuoc mam or nam pla; see Notes)
- 1 each red and green jalapeno chiles, seeded and minced
- 2 cups each loosely packed fresh mint, basil, dill, flat-leaf parsley, and cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup sliced celery (1/4 in. thick)
- 1 cup whole salted cashews
- 4 cups vegetable oil
- 1 pound calamari, cleaned (see Notes)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rice flour (see Notes)
- About 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, and chiles. Set dressing aside.
- In a large serving bowl, combine mint, basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, onion, celery, and cashews. Set aside.
- In a 4-qt. pot about 10 in. in diameter, heat vegetable oil until it registers 360u0b0 on a candy thermometer.
- While oil is heating, slice calamari tubes in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Lay each half flat, inside up, and gently score across the half 3 or 4 times with the point of a knife. Turn the half 90u0b0 and score 3 or 4 times across the first score marks to make a grid pattern (think tic-tac-toe). Halve and score the remaining tubes the same way. Put in a small bowl with tentacles. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, combine all-purpose flour, rice flour, 1 tsp. salt, and the cayenne. Drop the calamari pieces into the flour mixture, turning to coat well.
- Working in 3 batches, fry squid 4 to 5 minutes per batch, or until pieces are curled and light brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fried calamari to a large plate lined with several folded paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt to taste. Allow oil temperature to return to 360u0b0 between batches.
- Add the warm calamari to the herb-cashew mixture and pour half of the dressing over it. Toss gently just until coated. Serve salad immediately, with remaining dressing on the side.
- Note: Nutritional analysis is per 1 1/2-cup serving.
freshly squeezed lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, red, fresh mint, red onion, celery, cashews, vegetable oil, calamari, allpurpose, rice flour, kosher salt, cayenne
Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/vietnamese-calamari-herb-salad (may not work)