This crisp, salty, pungently aromatic dish is a strong contender to kick off my fantasy final meal – it wouldn’t really go with the steak frites and trifle to follow, but I find the combination of hot, crunchy batter and soft, creamy squid utterly irresistible. Happily, there’s no need to save it for the end times when it’s so easy to make for dinner tonight.

Prep 10 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 2

350g small sustainably-sourced squid, cleaned and defrosted, if necessary
¾ tsp black or white peppercorns
¾ tsp Sichuan peppercorns
¼ tsp fine salt
50g potato starch, or cornflour
1 generous pinch MSG (optional)
1 egg, beaten
Neutral oil, to deep fry
1 red chilli, stalk, pith and seeds discarded, flesh finely sliced
2 spring onions, trimmed, white and green parts finely sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced

1 Alternatives to squid

If you’re not a fan of the cephalopod, this recipe can be easily adapted to suit anything from small pieces of chicken or fish to whole prawns or mushrooms (king oysters seem to be the most popular, if you can get hold of them; as with anything with a high water content, however, you’ll need to blanch and drain them first).

2 A note on squid preparation

I prefer to use smallish rather than baby squid for this, but it will work with all sizes. Ask your fishmonger to clean them for you, if they’re not already done (those sold frozen generally are), or look at a guide online to help if you’re unsure of how to do this. Separate the bodies from the tentacles.

3 Cut the squid to size

Cut open the body of each squid, then cut the flesh into bite-sized triangles (these simply look the most attractive, though feel free to cut them any way you like). Score the inside in a diamond pattern, being careful not to cut all the way through the flesh – this will speed up cooking and also looks pretty.

4 Dry thoroughly

Using kitchen paper or a clean tea towel, pat dry the squid pieces and the tentacles as thoroughly as you can; you want them to be as dry as possible so the batter doesn’t go soggy or claggy. At this point, you can chill the squid until you’re ready to cook (the coating should be made just before frying).

5 Now for the pepper part

Put a dry frying pan on a medium-high flame, add both varieties of peppercorn and toast briefly until fragrant. Tip into a mortar, add the salt and crush to a powder. At this point, you could add other spices if you like, such as Chinese five-spice, paprika (for a warmer colour) or chilli flakes.

6 Make the batter

In a shallow bowl, mix about three-quarters of the pepper mixture with the potato starch and MSG, if using. Corn, rice or tapioca flour are all good substitutes for the potato starch; wheat flour will work, too, but the batter will be heavier. Break the egg into a second bowl and beat to loosen (the egg will add crunch, but omit it if you prefer a thinner coating).

7 Coat the squid

Half-fill a large pan or wok with neutral oil (or use a deep-fat fryer) and heat it to 180C (or until bubbles form around the tip of a heatproof chopstick when it’s dipped in; thermometers aren’t expensive, though, so I recommend investing in one). Meanwhile, dip each piece of squid one by one in the egg, shaking off any excess, then roll it in the seasoned potato starch to coat.

8 Fry the squid

Unless you have a very large pan, you’ll most likely have to fry the squid in batches (overcrowding the pan will bring down the temperature of the oil and result in a flabby, greasy coating). Fry each batch of squid for 90 seconds to two minutes, until curled and pale golden, stirring once to ensure the pieces don’t stick to the pan. Drain on kitchen paper and repeat with the remaining squid, making sure to bring the oil back up to temperature between batches.

9 Finishing touches

Heat a splash of oil in a clean frying pan, then briefly fry the chilli, spring onion and garlic on a medium-low heat, until golden. Turn up the heat, add the squid and toss to reheat. Sprinkle over the remaining ground pepper mix and serve at once while the squid is still hot and crisp.