Dried Squid - Fried and Grilled

When I was with Andrew and Lauren in Chinatown recently I purchased some dried squid. It looked pretty gnarley. I figured it would be fun to rehydrate, but my expectations as far as edibility were pretty low.

It did not look any better out of the package.

I put them in a tupperware container and filled it half way up with water and put the lid on it.

24 hours later it was looking pretty gross. The water was orangish yellow and the squid looked like it had pond scum on it. Can algae grow that fast?

It was amazing to see how much larger the squid had grown, particularly the tentacles. Compare the squid on the plate to it in its dried form above.

The rehydrated squid now cover the plate.

I took most of the tentacles and one squid body, put olive oil and salt on them and fried them.

The body curled up, as did the tentacles to some degree. I was surprised at how good they tasted. Much better than I thought the dried squid could be.

The tentacles almost look like a squid on their own.

The rest I covered in olive oil and then put a small amount of spicy pepper paste on them. Then I grilled them on the outdoor gass grill.

They tasted substantially different than the fried version, and it wasn't just the chilis. The smoky, barbeque flavor was infused into the squid. The taste difference was amazing. The grilled version was a little more plump - perhaps I cooked it a little less.

I am amazed to say that I think I will do this again. The grilled squid was very good and very easy to make. My expectations were low and it knocked my socks off.