Merry Calamari

Do you know that the word Calamari is the plural form of the Italian word for squid, Calamaro? It is also known as Kalamari (Greek), Kalamar (Turkish), Calmar (French), Kalmari (Finnish), Calamar or Calamares (Spanish), the name derives from the Late Latin word calamarium for "ink pot", after the inky fluid that squid secrete. Calamarium in turn derives from Greek kalamos (κάλαμος) meaning "reed," "tube" or "pen".

In the Philippines, squid is locally known as pusit and the term used for the breaded fried squid dish is Calamares. Some people though adapted the term Calamari since it is widely used most in fancy restaurants.

Calamares is also a popular street food. It is one of my favorites though I have to be cautious sometimes in buying. 

Since I am craving for calamares,  I cooked calamares for tonight's dinner. Join me!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb medium to large sized squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 piece raw egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups cooking oil

 

Cooking Procedure

Combine squid, salt, and ground black pepper then mix well. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Heat a skillet/frying pan then pour 2 cups of cooking oil.

Roll the squid in flour then dip in beaten egg.

When the oil is hot enough, deep-fry the squid until the color of the coating turns brown.

Remove the fried squid from the skillet, drain excess oil and put it on paper towels.

Serve with sweet and sour dipping sauce, spiced vinegar, toyo mansi or whatever sauce you want. I cooked my own sweet and sour dipping sauce since it's my tongue's favorable dipping sauce

Thanks to panlasangpinoy.com for the awesome recipes. :)